Mummy: The Resurrection Players Guide

Rating:
Summary: Well Worth the Extra Bucks
Review: The core book for playing Mummies was excellent, so its hard to believe that there was anything they needed to improove upon. Nonetheless, they did. And it is all the better for it. This book expands on what was written, giving all sorts of details for fleshing out the Egyptian Amenti, as well as non-Egyptian Mummies. The book starts out with two chapters of fiction, giving players a better chance at understanding how to portray an Egyptian Mummy.
The next chapter gives some more juicy stuff for fleshing out the various splats and factions in Mummy. All of the Amenti splats (including the Udja-sen) are fleshed out, giving us their beliefs, practices, factions, weaknesses and strengths. Following that, we get some other minor factions for Mummies to join, from the mystics of the Unbound Scroll to the Spiders of the Sands, who seek to expand the Web of Faith. While not as big as, say, the Cult of Isis or the Eset-a, these factions are still pretty cool.
The following chapter is very similar, exploring the two non-Egyptian Mummies, the Capacocha (South American) and Wu T'ian (Chinese). After getting through the basics of what these non-Egyptian Mummies can, and can't, do, we are presented with two-page splats for both of them (four suyu for the Capacocha, and two incarnations for the Wu T'ian), followed by some expanded info on all of the splats, much in the manner of the Amenti splats in the previous chapter. Theres some pretty juicy things hinted at in this chapter as well, including the possibility of "Other" Mummies, such as bog mummies or the ice man.
The next chapter is more mechanical, giving us expansions of the backgrounds from the core book, and examples of how they can be reworked for Amenti, Capacocha and Wu T'ian. Theres also some stuff on concepts, nature and demeanor, a new background, aspects of rebirth, a new ability (Martial arts) and tons of new merits and flaws. Most are Amenti specific, but can work for others, while a good number are tied to other cultures. Unfortunately, they aren't grouped in any particular way. While we can figure out that things like "Andean Native" or "were-llama" are probably Capacocha traits, it wouldn't hurt to tell us that anyway. Finally, the chapter closes with new Hekau. Four are presented for the Capacocha (one for each suyu), while two are presented for Wu T'ian (yin and yang; one for each incarnation).
This ties in nicely with the next chapter, the legendary Greater Hekau. First it explains how the advanced Hekau work, and then we are presented with some examples. All of the Amenti Hekau are given several spells, going from level 6 to level 8. The next chapter gives some more stuff for running Mummies, talking about major themes such as faith, passion, duality and death. The concept of balance is explored, along with each of the Amenti splats. Even some stuff for the Wu T'ian and Capacocha is in this chapter. The chapter closes with a word on cross-over, which, conveniently enough, ties in with the next chapter.
Surprisingly, Chapter Seven handles cross-overs pretty well. We are told, in plain English, that Mummies don't know the various factions in the World of Darkness, which makes cross-overs that much more believable. We then get some brief notes for cross-over with Vampire (including Kindred of the East and Wu T'ian cross-overs), Werewolf, Mage, Hunter, Wraith and Changeling. Next we get details on the Cults of Life (the Children of Osiris, Cult of Isis, Ashukhi Corporation). Two new Cults of Life are given: the vampire bedouins of the Disciples of Anubis (from Cairo by Night) and the Islamic monster slayers of the Ikhwan al-Safa (presented in the Year of the Hunter). Some notes on personalized cults are also presented, as well as four "Heralds of Ma'at", examples of Mummy ideals.
The final chapter is kind of short, but pretty decent anyway. It gives some examples of "magical treasures" for Mummies. While stuff is given for Amenti, Capacocha and Wu T'ian, it seems like more items were given for Capacocha than any other groups. Some pretty interesting ideas, but nothing really jumped out at me. Nonetheless, it could be a useful chapter. All in all, though, the MPG is well worth the buy. It really lets you add some depth to any Mummy character you could want to run.