Greetings, all!

I'm Perrin Rynning, one of the guys who got the nod to help Rick with the update of Society Eternity. I'd like to extend a warm "Welcome Back!" to all the old-timers, as well as honored greetings to those just joining us.

As the new editor of "VOX", it's my pleasure to help pass on news and views for y'all to use, plus a surprise or two. I'd like to ask everyone out there to send in submissions for VOX articles of every description, though keep in mind that in-game announcements and the like are more appropriate for Radio Eternity. Other than that, pretty much anything goes.

That said, here's a few ideas for articles. By no means are these the only things I'll accept; think of them as stuff to get the creative juices flowing:

* Game Mechanics ideas for the "Mechanics Toolbox". These kinds of articles can range from "Our Cadre resolves this particular thorny rules question thusly..." to "Stupid Serenade/Natures Tricks". If you came up with an echo, chorus, cage, carnal, or other interesting serenade stunt that left your Narrator shaking his head and saying, "That's so crazy, it just might work!", I'd like to hear about it. Likewise with Natures; putting the Bioluminescence Nature onto a sword blade at the Sci-Fi convention (walking away with a prize for "Best Prop" as well as a few contacts among the twilights you'll find quite handy later), for example.

* Fiction pieces for "Tales from Nivalea" or the like. From a transcription of your Cadre's adventures in the Walk to how your persona acquired that nifty pair of Tibetan boots, everyone's got a story. Here's your chance to spread it around a little.

* "LaGuerro's Guide to the Dominions". LaGuerro is a Solitaire who has somehow managed to escape the Pride's wrath by setting up a tour guide service to the Dominions to those Prides who need to travel them. A secondary specialty is locating and exploring Mantles which the Prides have forgotten about. He and his crew of explorers have moved through more lost Immortal cities than most Perpetuals who survived the Lash can remember, and they owe their continued survival in the Habitat and the Dominions to a few 'souvenirs' acquired through the centuries. If you'd like to join LaGuerro's team of intrepid adventurers, send in descriptions of the Dominion or Mantle you've uncovered.

Thanks again, and hope to hear from you soon!

Society Eternity - What we are up to!

Hi everyone, my name is Rick Don, the director of Society Eternity. Many of you know me as the gentleman that kept up the Voxpress site for Ran Ackels and maintained the newsletter and Radio Eternity. Well, that is all changing as you can see by the new site we have here. We have a new editor for the newsletter and a new editor for Radio Eternity. We are slowly pushing forth new formats and tons of support for players of 1st and 2nd Edition alike.

So, where do things stand right now? Well, Precedence is inhouse testing 2nd Edition, and told us that we should soon be receiving a few special tidbits that will be either up on the VOX Newsletter or in the new 2nd Edition portion of our new site here at societyeternity.com. They are also going to go back and finish up the missing Prides (Phoenix, Roane, Tautha, and Terat) and let us put that with the rest of the 1st Edition material that we have. We are being given the remaining conceptual material and will be presenting it at the new site (including information on Prides, Callings, Mechanics, etc.) for 1st Edition. And as 2nd Edition comes out we will be giving you some preview material of that as well. Look for that soon.

We also will begin this late spring or early summer, accepting applications for you to be able to create your own officially sponsored local fan clubs, the Pantheons. We also are going to begin hosting Society Games, which can help you earn official status and ranking within the Society (Club Eternity registry). That, along with those of you who want to help us with demos and at conventions, is how you can get some really neat prizes, some of which won't be available to the general public for consumption, and some of which will only be available to those registered within Club Eternity/Pantheons.

So keep your eyes peeled here at our new site about once a week or so and watch for the changes!

Rick Don
Director - Society Eternity

This article was submitted anonymously, so if the Author will kindly identify him/herself, I can give credit where credit is due. Until then, however, here's a tip o' th' hat to you, whomever you may be, for an excellent summation and clarification of this very important issue.

A lot of people get confused over how to run the concept of the Himsati in "Immortal". The following is intended as clarification based on the discussions on the Immortal Mailing List, and information found in various FAQ's, etc.

The Himsati is the true form of the Immortal, the animal or element or combination of the two, that the Immortal was at the moment of being "infected" with the conundrum shard. The shard entered the body through some kind of wound, having been touched by the blood seeping from it. It liquefied, traveling up the bloodstream and into the wound, making its way to the brain and throat. In the brain, it formed the Shard and connected the two hemispheres, while forming the Vox in the throat. These changes allowed the creature to perceive the Aria and gave its DNA (now called Glamour) the ability to change form. When an Immortal enters Lethe, the Himsati is the component of the soul that allows physical transformation of the human form into which the Immortal was reincarnated. For those Immortals that are some kind of combination of animal and element, many are "Immortalized" when they are about to die in a natural disaster.

For example, a fox slips down the hill into a deep snowdrift, impaling itself upon a sharp branch. It lies there, buried under the snow that cakes its face and sits within the deep wound. As the last of the fox's lifeblood spills out, it touches upon a shard buried under the ancient snowdrift. This shard flows up and does its work, combining the snow the fox breathed into its lungs, the water in its wounds, and the fox's own body, producing an Icefox. This Icefox would have the four basic natures most befitting the persona's vision of combining ice and a fox.

Going to himsati is a relatively easy process, stimulated by a thought sent to the Glamour within the body. Though the change can take place in stages, or only be partially done any change thus made to any part of the persona's body means that the Immortal is considered to be "in Himsati". Therefore, the persona takes the -5 to all serenade-playing and any skills involving the intricate use of the hands (note that this does not apply to things like dodge, stealth, etc.)

The first and most usually attained stage of the Himsati is the Prime Aspect, the most fundamental state that exists for an Immortal. Upon achieving this form, the four basic natures activate. You cannot go into Prime and only activate say, three of the four natures. In return for this forced activation, the persona need not roll for Himsati possession. Any and all of the four basic natures used in Prime Aspect are at no cost. Even if the book states that the nature normally has a cost, it has no Immaculum expenditure if it is a Prime Nature.

Once the Prime Aspect is achieved, the next step is to activate the other aspects of the haloes. In order to use a Nature, the proper aspect must first be activated, by making a roll for Himsati Possession. Anything but a null keeps the persona safe. If, for example, the Immortal gained Control Mammals upon reaching the 3^rd Himsati Tier, he would have to activate his Red Aspect in order to use that nature. If that aspect was activated previously (for a different nature that required the red halo to be activated) than the aspect is already considered active and needs to be re-activated.

It is also possible to skip the Prime Aspect completely, activating various aspects and using their natures. This would give the persona the much-sought-after 'half-creature half-human' look. A problem in the mechanics rulings is that no Prime (or Inborn) Nature, save for the Pride Gift, can be used without activating the Prime Aspect. This means that if you were a bird, you could not use your wings without turning into an actual bird. It would not be possible to skip Prime Aspect and use your wings. A widely-used house rule follows that you can do so. But you will need to activate your appropriate aspect and roll for Himsati Possession since you attempt to gain the use of a Prime Nature without going to Prime Aspect. Using a Prime Nature without the form will not protect you from possession. Some Narrators have ruled that you must also pay the normal cost, even if it normally costs you nothing (due to Himsati Kingdom) if using a Prime Nature without Prime Aspect being acti! vate d.

Full Himsati is the most dangerous and the most powerful stage that can be reached. By activating the Prime Aspect AND activating all the colored aspects, you gain an extra ability. (NOTE: You do not have to use all the Natures in those aspects that you possess, but you must activate all 6 colored aspects and roll for possession with each one.) Normally, one can only place their Free Immaculum into a specific halo and let it flow back into Free again. When in Full Himsati you can move any mote from any halo to any other halo at will, once each combat round. This allows you to change your stats at need to match your opponents each round of combat.

Himsatis that are pure elements (earth/fire/air/water) are very rare. Normally only the Primals have such pure elements for their himsatis. Even the Peri usually have a humanoid form or are mixed in some way. The Phoenix too have this same feature of an animal/fire blend. The companion for these is almost always the non-element. If you are a burning tiger or a tiger made of fire, than your companion is the tiger, not fire. Choosing natures can also be tricky. We will take the fire-tiger as an example. Even if you are a combination of two things (like Tiger and Fire) you still only get four Inborn Natures. So you must choose carefully which you will take.

If for example you were a burning tiger (physical tiger with flames), than you may take:

Burning Essence, Armor, Natural Weaponry, Temperature Tolerance Cold

If, however, you were a tiger made of fire (tiger-shaped flames), then you might take:

Burning Essence, Ethereal Form, Temperature Tolerance Cold, Musk

Why take those? Well, if you are ethereal in Prime Aspect, Natural Weaponry would pass right through your opponent, doing them no harm. You would do your damage by passing your ethereal claw through your opponent, with your Burning Essence doing the damage. Why Musk? Have you ever smelled a fire with that "odd" smell? These are not rules, merely guidelines of course, and suggestions. But note that there is a big difference between the two above himsatis. And remember, regardless of the book, those Inborn Prime Natures are free, no Immaculum expenditure (per FAQ in old issue of VOX).

The Himsati is the fundamental part of the Immortal persona, that which is left when all else is stripped away. When determining a persona's himsati, a player should think carefully about exactly what the persona is. The simple squirrel (with the right halo-strengths and natures) can be just as effective as the mighty lion. The himsati is the truest reflection of the Immortal persona and personality, so one should also make sure that the himsati matches the persona one intends to play. Be sure to choose a good match up between the himsati and the rest of your persona's "theme". And... good luck!

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