Good morning to all you Heroes, Villains, and even the Environment targets out there!

I’m excited to be back with another update, but this one has a BUNCH of villains, so let’s get right into it!

When Dr. Blake Washington, Jr. led his expedition into the Sahara that resulted in him gaining the Staff of Ra and becoming the avatar of the sun god, he left the bulk of his findings out of his published archaeological reports. However, the sudden appearance of this new hero, Ra, caused many to wonder as to his origins, and others to see opportunity.

Roderick Ward had long led a team of what he called “archaeological entrepreneurs”. He and his twelve comrades had seen more of the ruins of the ancient world than the top archaeologists and museum curators combined, and they had sold all their discoveries to the highest bidders. Ward paid little heed to those who admonished him and his team for their grave robbing and artifact peddling — the giant bags of cash he received paid for a lavish lifestyle which more than quieted whatever stirrings of a conscience he may have felt.

When Ward’s team heard about Dr. Washington’s successful discovery of a previously unknown pyramid, it sparked two ideas. First, that there had to be more to this story, and second, that there could be more treasure to be found. More importantly, there could be more treasure to be sold! Roderick Ward and his team of adventuring rogues spent years scouring the Sarahan wastes for other undiscovered ruins before finally stumbling upon a well-hidden structure, forgotten by time and buried beneath the sweeping sands. Not unfamiliar with hieroglyphics, Ward determined this to be the Temple of the Ennead, but what did that mean? Venturing cautiously through the temple’s traps and trials, they searched for valuable treasures.

Instead, they were the ones discovered! Ancient guardian mummies ambushed the group, and Ward had to make a hasty decision. Leaving four of his team to be slaughtered by the enraged undead protectors, the remaining would-be grave robbers barricaded themselves in a sealed chamber, ringed with ornate sarcophagi. Each of the nine sarcophagi depicted a powerful Egyptian deity, holding a great artifact of power. Ward and his eight remaining companions quickly forgot the impending peril, entranced by the aura of power in the room. Each took a relic from the outstretched, golden hands before them, and the team was instantly transformed into the fabled Ennead of Heliopolis. In these new forms, they had vast power and knowledge, but they also harbored ancient memories and hatred.

They had defeated Ra millennia ago, taking his place as gods of all the civilized world. However, after only a few hundred years, a new deity appeared, calling itself Horus. It fought the Ennead to a standstill before ultimately revealing itself to be Ra reborn and imprisoning the Ennead in this temple beneath the surface of the Sahara, doomed to be forgotten.

The Ennead have returned, with Roderick Ward as their leader, Atum. They have little need for the riches of this world — now, they have power! They yearn for revenge and will have it! Ra’s days are numbered once again…

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The Ennead are powerful, capricious, and here to make sure Ra has a bad time! Ra has always been a fan-favorite hero, dishing out lots of fire damage and haughty expressions, so it’s only right that he has NINE nemeses in one deck!

To learn more about The Ennead, check out these episodes of The Letters Page podcast:

The Ennead have a main villain character card called “The Temple of The Ennead”, but it mostly exists to establish the play area and bring the members of The Ennead into play over the course of the game. Each of them have their own character cards, which start the game under The Temple and come into play, mostly one a turn, but with some possibilities to arrive at other times, as well!

And here are a few of them now!

Scary!

When they are defeated, they flip to their Incapacitated sides, which give them a more passive but still impactful action. No reveals on those yet! Time will tell!

Then, their deck is made up of One-Shots, each connected to a different member of The Ennead:

And also the Relics of The Ennead! These cards have just one copy each, and can bring forth and empower the so-called deities who use them!

The Ennead are a tough fight! If you’re going to fight nine gods, you’d better be ready for quite the conflict!

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Most of the questions in the comments have been answered by helpful backers who are in the know, and that’s great! However, there was one thing that came up a few times in a few ways, and I wanted to address it specifically. To sum up the topic:

A: Great question! When I wrote Parse’s original bio (about a decade ago), at the time, my understanding of Asperger’s was based mostly on a student I’d taught several years prior, who had been diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome, and who was bright, incredibly intelligent, deeply analytical, but also had challenges related to people and understanding social cues. Not to say that Parse was based on this student — they are both very different people — but I drew on what I knew when incorporating Asperger’s into the character. As a result, the information I had was entirely outdated. Modernly, Asperger’s is no longer used, as it is better understood to be part of what we know as the Autism spectrum. I am by no means an expert on the subject, so when various Sentinels fans over the years took the time to reach out and correct me, I was delighted to learn more! Thus, the character of Parse hasn’t changed at all! We’ve all just gotten better at using the right terminology to describe her experiences.

I hope this helps!

Join us tomorrow for an update about an environment! And keep on saving the Multiverse!

-Christopher