Torg Eternity – Nile Empire Sourcebook by Deanna Gilbert is a role playing game supplement published by Ulisses Spiele for use with Torg Eternity.
The supplement is available as a PDF from DriveThruRPG for $19.99 and is also available in printed form from sites such as Amazon. The PDF is the version reviewed although it was purchased at a reduced price as part of a special bundle. The PDF has 146 pages with two being the front and rear covers, one the front matter, one the contents and one the Index.
Player Section starts with a map of the Nile Empire showing the zones, hardpoints and maelstrom bridges.
Welcome to the Nile Empire is a piece of fiction set in the Nile Empire.
One Year Later… starts with an overview of Doctor Mobius’s part of the invasion of Core Earth. This is followed by an overview of the Nile Empire itself, which is strongly spiritual and technology-wise is around the 1930s-40s. Magic and pulp heroes can be found within the Empire. Life within the Nile Empire is covered, with the military, economy, religion, politics and law and order, and the difference between pulp powers and super powers. The current state of the war is described, along with the response of the Core Earth nations; Israel, Iran, the Arabian Peninsula, Europe and Turkey, west and south Africa, and Tunisia, Algeria and Monaco. At the end of the chapter is a timeline showing the major events for Year 1.
Storm Knights has new Perks appropriate for the Nile Empire, including Beta Clearance Perks that can only be taken when the Storm Knight reaches that level.
Pulp Powers are a defining aspect of the Nile Empire. These are described as powers that are extraordinary or even supernatural, but not associated directly with magic, miracles or technology. Powers can be inherent, come from gadgets or mystical artefacts or from pulp sorcery rituals. Pulp powers can have enhancements selected that increase the power level or utility of the power, either by choosing a Limitation – which will need GM approval to stop this from being gamed – or a Perk. New Limitations and pulp powers are then described.
Magic starts by looking at two ancient arcane traditions of the Nile Empire, Mathematics and Engineering. A sidebar has a list of the available spells, from this book and Torg Eternity, available to Mathematicians, Engineers and pulp sorcerers. Mathematicians and Engineers can bind spells and miracles to Nile Empire buildings, and now any spell that isn’t contradictory can as well. There are details on pulp sorcery and illusions, and then details on new spells.
Miracles looks at these, as the Nile Empire is rich in spiritual energy. Amaatism is the official religion of the Nile Empire, and it looks at the primary gods and goddesses, tenets and worship. The official religion is designed to reinforce Doctor Mobius’s position. Copts and Islam are briefly mentioned, then new Miracles available in the Nile Empire.
Gear looks briefly at holy items, magic items and weird science items, before covering general gear, armour and shields, melee and missile weapons, firearms, heavy weapons and vehicles found in the Nile Empire. Most of the equipment is specific to Nile Empire, but there are some more general items as well, including Delphi Council items provided for people operating within the Nile Empire.
The Game Master’s Section starts with a colour and symbol which is used for Possibilities specific to the Nile Empire.
Warzones starts by giving an overview of Doctor Mobius’s strategy for the invasion and the different regions. It then looks briefly at Egyptian history prior to the invasion, then the maelstrom bridge landing on the Giza plateau and the start of the invasion. The different regions where the Nile Empire is active, including areas currently not conquered by the Empire, is then detailed, which is Cairo, the Nile Basin, North Africa and the Mediterranean, the Middle East and East Africa and the Congo. Reality raiders active in the different regions are also covered.
Reality looks at the axioms of the Nile Empire cosm. Magic is high enough that there are three types of magic in common use, and its use is integral to the Imperial Government. Though Social is high, it is still a nationalistic, totalitarian, expansionistic empire under the absolute rule of a single person. Social is high enough for limited precognition but psionic powers are rare and usually manifest as pulp powers. The Nile Empire has the second highest Spirit axiom, with only the Cyberpapcy being higher, and Doctor Mobius has deliberately increased this axiom to allow miracles to be invoked. The Tech axiom is around the 1930s-1940s, which is higher than most of the invading cosms, but low enough that advanced Core Earth tech doesn’t function.
World Laws are the laws that set one reality apart from another, and affect its looks and feel. The major world laws start with the Law of Action which explains that the Nile Empire is full of over-the-top action; it’s stated that often the best solution is to punch something. Starting adventures in media res is a useful concept for the Nile Empire. The Law of Drama essentially explains that everything is exaggerated; the GM is advised to ham it up (essentially, the Nile Empire is a World of Ham). Obstacles can be piled on top of each other and there’s a d20 list of obstacles to roll on. The Law of Heroism supports the existence of pulp powers, and means that whilst villains may pop up all the times, heroes also arise to fight them.
As well as the three major World Laws, there are three minor ones. The Law of Morality is a subset of the Law of Heroism. Heroes also make sacrifices for the greater good. Villains are individually more powerful, but will usually only have minions. They also have a fatal flaw. Both heroes and villains will surrender to superior forces, knowing that they will not be summarily executed. The Law of Inevitable Return is a subset of the Law of Drama means that no matter what is done to a hero, they will always come back. The Law of Masks is another subset of the Law of Heroism; when a mask is worn, it’s impossible to determine the real identity of a hero or villain.
Dr. Mobius and the Invaders stars with Dr. Mobius’s origins as Sutenhotep, bastard son of the evil Pharoah, Amat-Ra, over 3,000 years ago in Egypt in his home cosm of Terra. Though Sutenhotep eventually gained power, his father cursed him and he was eventually slain. His followers continued on and eventually managed to resurrect their fallen Pharoah, and the new Doctor Mobius discovered a Darkness Device, which gave him the power to raid one cosm after another over 30 years. After the ninth such raid, Mobius was contacted by the Gaunt Man about the attack on Core Earth. High Lord Mobius is then described, along with his stats.
Next the Nile Empire’s stelae are covered, along with their defences, the Darkness Device, known as Apophis, and Doctor Mobius’s relations with the other High Lords; Mobius’s agents are frequently found outside the Nile Empire and often interfere with the plans of the other High Lords. Mobius’s has the best relationships with Baruk Kaah of the Living Land. Following this, details are given on Mobius’s closest advisors and then the Overgovernors who govern parts of the Nile Empire on his behalf.
The different parts of the Imperial military are covered, along with the Battlegroups they are organised into, with elite Battlegroups named after the Overgovernors and under their command; these are given an overview. Doctor Mobius has his own Super Battlegroup under his own command. Finally, there are details on the College of Mathematics and the Society of Engineers, the two official organisations that use magic, and the Ennead, which is the religious branch of the Imperial Government.
The Delphi Council and Mystery Men are those that are battling the Nile Empire. The Delphi Council is the Core Earth organisation that is coordinating the fight against all the invading realities, and its objectives and agendas in the Nile Empire region are given. Also covered are major personnel for the region, the council’s resources in the Nile Empire, supplies and resistance cells that the council is aiding. The Mystery Men are a group of pulp heroes from Doctor Mobius’s home cosm whose leader followed the High Lord to Core Earth. The current membership of the Mystery Men, which includes those that are technically dead at the moment, is covered.
Adventures in the Nile Empire starts by looking at The Egypt that Never Was; when the axiom wash spread across the Nile Empire, Egyptian ruins sprang up in places where Egypt had never been on Core Earth, relics of an Egypt that didn’t exist on either Core Earth or Doctor Mobius’s home cosm of Terra. This is followed by some details on Cairo, the fact that Doctor Mobius likes to go face to face with heroes, some details on Terra and the limitations of pulp powers. Pulp heroes can have attributes and skills that are far higher than they would normally be. Given the nature of the Nile Empire, handwaving travel is completely acceptable. Tombs are also a common feature of the Nile Empire.
With tombs come traps, and these are detailed. How to avoid and disable traps and how traps in the Nile Empire differ from those in Aysle are followed by various example traps. Deathtraps are complex traps with multiple components that are almost always resolved through Dramatic Skill Resolution.
Threats is the bestiary of new creatures found in the Nile Empire. This starts with the gospog used in the empire; gospog are a combination of corpse and plant provided by the Gaunt Man of Orrorsh and are not trusted by Doctor Mobius as a result. Other bestiary creatures are animals, imperial troops, monsters, which includes creatures that are not Egyptian in origin, but from other myths, walking gods, three powerful supervillains and some other villains.
Eternity Shards are Possibility Energy-rich objects and the reason why Doctor Mobius chose this part of Core Earth to invade. Several such objects are detailed, followed by eternium, which is Possibility Energy in physical form whose refinement was pioneered by Doctor Mobius, and Sacred items, which are rare items with powers, though perhaps not as much as an Eternity Shard.
Torg Eternity – Nile Empire Sourcebook in Review
The PDF is bookmarked with the major and minor sections linked, though not to the level of depth they could be. The contents are to a similar level of depth. The Index isn’t as thorough as it could be and, moreover, has some errors. Navigation could be better. The text maintains a two-column format and appeared to be almost free of errors. There are a variety of colour illustrations, up to about a half page in size. Presentation is decent.
This is, naturally, not a complete game; the core rulebook is needed in order to play. Though there are new game options, this is a sourcebook covering a new area of the Possibility Wars and, given the nature of Torg, this means new game options and items that may or may not work very well outside the Nile Empire.
Given that the nature of Torg is to have settings that are different from each other, it should be no surprise that this setting has its differences. The Nile Empire is a pulp setting, from the 30s and 40s, when heroes and villains were more costumed and less superpowered; they may well have abilities above the human norm, but they are still people. Batman and Iron Man, not Superman and Spider-Man. Though they may also be highly intelligent, thinking things through is not an element of Nile Empire adventuring; action is first and foremost. Do something, then try and fix the problem caused, rather than trying to avoid causing the problem in the first place. This setting is one that’s designed for over-the-top action and adventures. Torg Eternity – Nile Empire Sourcebook can be found by clicking here.
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