The Gods

Game Master Cdawg


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Korak The Boisterous wrote:
I'm still not certain of my choice favored weapon, I thought the design of the cane would appeal to Errolyn as each one would be a little different. Anybody have any other ideas?

My first thought was rapier until I saw you had sword cane, which was kind of like an even more posh rapier ;)

Silver Crusade

Is it possible that a certain amount of submissions will trogger the cut-off to cone early or is it going to be September 3rd no matter what?


Ridge here again. While I think I still prefer Scrapeknee (Since the Chance addition), I thought with all the competition I better increase my chances of getting in by making a back up god.

Staryth- CN God of the Oceans & Rivers (And the life within them), Prophecy, Prosperity and Might

While also CN, he's moodier than Scrapeknee, and rather proud.

It's all in the alias profile


I do have some questions: will we be following the D&D deity rankings (ie greater deity, lesser deity, intermediate deity, etc) or are we following something else?

Will we be using the mythic adventure rules or the rules from D&D Epic level handbook and the Deities and Demigods sourcebooks or a combination of these books, or will we be using something else?


ThePuppyTurtle wrote:
Is it possible that a certain amount of submissions will trogger the cut-off to cone early or is it going to be September 3rd no matter what?

I'm going to wait till the 3rd as originally stated.


SCKnightHero1 wrote:

I do have some questions: will we be following the D&D deity rankings (ie greater deity, lesser deity, intermediate deity, etc) or are we following something else?

Will we be using the mythic adventure rules or the rules from D&D Epic level handbook and the Deities and Demigods sourcebooks or a combination of these books, or will we be using something else?

The information about Gods is on the first page but to recap and perhaps explain a little better;

When involving Gods this is a narrative, rules light game where Gods are nearly omnipotent and can do just about anything simply by desiring it. The two main rules come into play when Gods clash, as that is essentially one of the only times Gods don't just auto win and get what they want without rolls.

When two Gods directly battle over how they want a certain situation to go, such as the fate of a planet or even something as petty as the fate of a single mortal, both Gods roll a D20 and the higher roll wins, rerolling ties. A Greater God gains a +5 bonus to this roll.

In a fatal contest where two Gods really get in one another faces and battle essence to essence while refusing to back down both are destroyed. There can be some variation to this because of the difference in power between a God and a Greater God. When two Gods fatally fight they are both destroyed, when two Greater Gods fight they are both destroyed, but when a God and a Greater God fight the God is destroyed and the Greater God simply knocked down to God status.

While fatal fights are, well, fatal, a God can easily avoid destruction at the hands of a homicidal God simply by refusing to engage the deity and fleeing whenever pursued. However this can be an embarrassing situation for the fleeing God, who is often bullied and pursued across the Planes. Still unlucky Gods who find themselves in this situation often times find it better to accept humiliation than be destroyed.

Now, while the Gods themselves use a rule light system the mortal world uses the Pathfinder system and can use things like the Mythic rules for Demigods and epic heroes. Generally this only matters if players want to have mortal worshipers go on adventures as well during the game and play them in addition to their God or when two Gods are playing a round of the Great Game and want to use game rules to determine the outcome.

For players who don't ever want to do paper work or roll for those contests on the mortal level the Pathfinder ruleset can largely be ignored as no mortal, no matter how epicly strong, can stand against a Gods will for even a second, thus their stats do not matter.

Still it can be fun to create epic heroes and monsters as well as your deity and play them in addition to your God or even just have two monsters chosen from a bestiary fight for your amusement.


Well I'm not really worried about stepping on anybodies toes on this, I'm adding the arts to my portfolio


So to reiterate previous posts and add a bit more there are two ranks of true Gods, Gods and Greater Gods.

All 20 deities, both PCs and Npcs, start the game at God level and can attain Greater God status by attaining 20 experience points (usually 10 when I run this game but I've decided a bit ago to slow the pace for this game based on past experience)

Experience is gained at the end of every real life month depending on a players posting rate and how much effort is put into the deity's story and tends to range from 1-5 xp. 1 for very causal posting up to 5 for those fun players who post everyday and tell intricate stories. A tracker in the campaign tab will show every deity's xp progress with NPC Gods gaining xp as well at a rate of 0-2 xp a month depending on GM's whim.

Once you finally achieve Greater God status you stop gaining xp, however if through fatally battling a God you are knocked back down to God status you can acquire xp once more and reattain Greater God status eventually.


quick question because I don't remember it being mentioned, what if two greater gods fight, is it so much power they destroy each other, or is ouch, we're both regular gods again?


Korak The Boisterous wrote:
quick question because I don't remember it being mentioned, what if two greater gods fight, is it so much power they destroy each other, or is ouch, we're both regular gods again?

They can destroy each other but they can also withdraw after knocking each other down a 'level'.


cool thanks


I have been thinking of adding a new experimental Divine rank for this game to see if it works well; "Overgod" a deity with +10 to Divine contest rules and three 'health levels', I think it might be fun but I haven't decide yet how much XP after Greater God you would need, would people mind if I experimented with that rank for this game?


nope, in fact I was just thinking of suggesting that under the name Elder God


Oh also I should note that while I have been talking alot about battles between Gods that is only because that is just what needs rules, not what this game is about.

The goal of the game isn't to kill your fellow Gods, but to have fun with a power fantasy and to have a bit of a Godly adventure when the main storyline shows up.

While Divine politics can play a big role in game as well it's usually more about making friends and sharing fun times or jockeying for status with your rivals. As explained earlier Gods generally shy away from direct conflict.


Korak The Boisterous wrote:
nope, in fact I was just thinking of suggesting that under the name Elder God

Ah, Elder God, I like that.


A couple things about about how the gameplay will go in this game;

First, you never need to ask me if your God has enough power to do something in the Multiverse. Often when I first start this game players consistently ask me if something they are doing is too powerful or going too far. You can literally do anything in this game to the multiverse, the only thing that can stop you is your fellow Gods gainsaying you with Will contests. Truly the only things beyond your power to effect are the Souls in the Blisslands and your fellow Gods (somewhat, you can battle them using the rules provided) any thing else is free game and you can do what you want when you want.

Second, gameplay will largely be player driven with the players narrating their Gods actions, most mortal actions and the circumstances in their Planar Realms and among their worshipers when they care to share.

Ideally players will not just be telling their own stories but weaving them with mine and the other players (though you don't have to).

My role as GM will be to run the NPC Gods, run the main story and villain, run interesting mortals and organizations that I make to interact with various player Gods and finally to arbitrate conflicts between players if disagreements happen that can't be satisfactorily worked out between them on their own.


Hmm. So—will the game start with an existing world, or creation myths? (Some of our deities used to be mortals, or extraplanar, but settling the issue/ordering of who created animals, plants, humans, dwarves, elves, fey, archons, inevitables, etc..)


thunderbeard wrote:
Hmm. So—will the game start with an existing world, or creation myths? (Some of our deities used to be mortals, or extraplanar, but settling the issue/ordering of who created animals, plants, humans, dwarves, elves, fey, archons, inevitables, etc..)

When the game starts the multiverse will have been around a very long time and what is known about it's very beginning will be shared soon with a "further information" post. As far as when each of you will have arisen and who created what we will work that out with a player discussion.


Further Information, Post 5: The Elder Evils

It is common to the mythologies of many religions that the multiverse started as a paradise, only becoming brutal and full of strife at a later date. The truth is actually the exact opposite.

The multiverse was once a place of endless, horrific evil and sanity shattering madness, great beings of God-like power ruled over all creation.

These monsters of madness and horror were not true Gods, but they might as well have been. Their forms were horrific and bizarre, often with a deeply wrong symmetry that has no place in reality, and they tortured all the strange beings that called the multiverse home at that distant time beyond endurance until reality itself bleed and wept.

These beings men have named The Elder Evils and they ruled for untold eons.

A strange feature of the multiverse is that it has unlimited dimensions, both in size and in time. No matter how far out a God may travel there is always more to see and find and no matter how far backward or forward in time they travel there is no beginning or end.

Shar, the Lady of Loss, claims that she remembers the blissful times when there was no multiverse and deeply wishes she could return to that time of peace and this may be true as Shar is by far the eldest of the Gods (with perhaps the exception of a PC God) and has always been around.

If there was a point where there was nothing that time is long past, as it were. Once the universe was created it became eternal and unending.

So for the majority of history, as far back towards the beginning as one cares to look, the Elder Evils ruled, ignored by the few Gods there were who kept to themselves until the day Asmodeus, the Angel of Light, arose, spawned as a God of pure goodness from a universe that instinctively rebelled at Evil being the only major force in creation.

As a God, Asmodeus was far stronger than the Elder Evils and set about slaying them and ordering the Multiverse. He largely succeeded but the personal cost to him was high.

While the Elder Evils are as much under the Gods power as any other creature in the multiverse, slaying them is an incredibly foul experience for a being of pure Astral power, even an evil one, akin to taking a mortal who is obsessed with cleanliness and dumping them head first into a septic tank. Not harmful necessarily, but so disgusting and distressing the mortal would deeply fear ever doing it again.

Asmodeus fought through oceans of Evil and foulness for countless millennia and by the time he could claim victory his mind saw only Evil around him and he had become the solely self reliant, tyrannical and clever being that would one day see him claim the Nine Hells of Baator and rule over them as a lawful but sadistic Devil God.

After Asmodeus' great work was nearly complete and the overall influence of the Elder Evils broken the multiverse became a much tamer place of rules and sanity. Mortal species and new Gods both arose and took over the task of ordering the many worlds under their influence.

Asmodeus had done his task well and while there were still Elder Evils aplenty in the dark, forgotten places of the multiverse he ignored them and let the other Gods deal with it.

Lacking the willingness to dive head first into that septic tank the other Gods tried to limit their contact with the Eldar Evils and if threatened by one a God would usually attempt to just put it to sleep or imprison it, a still gross task involving touching them with their Divine Wills but far less nasty then destroying them.

Today the Elder Evils are almost forgotten by mortals with only the occasional sanity shattering contact occurring, they are still there though, sleeping, waiting...preparing.

Finally, the now deceased God Toth, an ancient God of Knowledge, sought to learn about these ancient beings as part of his studies and actually managed to communicate with a few Elder Evils whose consciousness weren't so alien even a God couldn't understand them.

All of them spoke to the God of their purpose, the reason they exist, claiming that they were beings created for a purpose beyond simply causing madness. They said they were created as guardians, beings so evil no one would ever want to try to get past them to what they guarded. However, none of them knew who had created them or what exactly it was they were guarding.

Toth never discovered the truth, though he looked long and hard. It is a mystery that fades with time, as even the most curious of the Gods turn their minds toward more present and pressing matters...


Yeah, I'll add in Elder God. Gather 20 xp after achieving Greater God status and become an Elder God with a +10 bonus on Will contests and three 'health levels'.


Yikes!


Yikes? I doubt any one of the players will reach Elder any time soon if it's 1-5 xp per RL month and reaching Elder takes 40 xp. But if an NPC deity would get Elder God status... YIKES.


Mighty Glacier wrote:
Yikes? I doubt any one of the players will reach Elder any time soon if it's 1-5 xp per RL month and reaching Elder takes 40 xp. But if an NPC deity would get Elder God status... YIKES.

Fortunately the NPC Gods start at the same level and advance the same way you do and only receive 0-2 XP a month.


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Alrighty here we go! I got two of my deities written up. Just let me know if I forgot anything:

Thoral:
The Divine Smith of the Mountains, the Armorer, Patron of Smiths, the Fortifier, the Mountain Father, the Father of Forges, the Forgefather, and the First Smith, Thoral is the creator of the dwarves as well as the world, forging the dwarves from metal and gems. It was he who forged the world from mere cosmic energies and used the very sun to heat his forge, thus becoming the first smith. The sparks that flew from his hammer became the stars. When the Serpent of Oblivion and Ruin slithered from the darkest reaches of the void and attempted to devour numerous worlds at the dawn of creation, Thoral wrestled the monstrous entity and strangled it with his bare hands. Thoral is also known as a protector as those who defend hearth, home, and family gain his blessings and his support. The dwarves believe that Thoral takes the souls of the deceased and reforges them, giving them new life. This is why dwarves cremate their dead (although a few famous dwarves who have died have not been cremated and were buried in great stone coffins). Thoral appears as a mighty muscular dwarven warrior wielding a warhammer (his favored weapon) and wearing a suit of mithral and adamantine dwarven plate armor adored with every gem and precious stone (except pearls since dwarves don’t consider pearls to be gems) in existence. He has dark black hair and bread.

His holy symbol is a mountain with two crisscrossing warhammers inside of it and seven anvils circling the mountain (each anvil represents the first dwarven kingdoms). His domains are Artifice, Earth, Fire, Good, Law, Protection, and Rune. His dominion is the Eternal Mountain Forge, a massive mountain where he forges and stores many wonderful crafts. While he gets along with most deities (even those of the elves and humans), good-aligned dragon and giant deities are wary around him, since many ancient dwarven kingdoms were laid low by giants and dragons. The Armorer knows the difference between good and evil dragon and giant deities, but that doesn’t mean he likes the good ones. He merely tolerates them. Thoral tolerates no evil among the dwarves, having cast out the derro and gray dwarves countless years ago. He believes that the dwarven race shouldn’t isolate itself from the troubles of the world, but instead stand alongside humans, dwarves, elves, Halflings, and gnomes (and half-orcs, if they are goodhearted) in defense of all that is good in the world.

Adriel:
The Angelic Paladin, the Invincible Guardian, Guide of Heroes, Steward of Heavenly Avalon, the Vigilant Knight, and the Lord of Chivalry, Adriel is the patron of knights, paladins, and honorable heroes who take a stand against the endless armies of darkness and evil. He appears as a tall four winged human man wearing a suit of half-plate mail armor so excellently crafted that it moves with him as it if was made of cloth. Adriel has dusty blond hair, but shines like the morning sun, and his skin is like polished porcelain. A glowing golden halo floats above his head. Born the son of a celestial angelic spirit who had a tryst with an archon, Adriel sprang forth fully grown from his mother’s womb, wearing plate armor. Because of his mixed celestial nature, he is much more open-minded to other good-aligned beings, although he has a hard time understanding (not to mention getting along with) azatas and their masters. However, the Angelic Paladin is wise to know that noble heroes can arise with chaotic souls, although he acknowledges such a fact with begrudging reluctance. As the Steward of Heavenly Avalon, the Guide of Heroes watches over the final resting place of many noble and brave heroes who gave everything to combat the forces of villainy. He watches over them, ready to wake them from their eternal slumber for the day when they may be needed once more. He also guards several holy relics and artifacts, waiting to grant them to deserving mortals who maybe in need of them, especially when the fate of the world is in peril.

His holy symbol is a four-winged silver sword pointing downwards with a golden halo hovering about the sword. Adriel’s domains are Glory, Good, Law, Nobility, and War. The Lord of Chivalry expects his followers to uphold the virtues of chivalry with deeds, not just words, and to act honorably at all times. His favored weapon is the longsword. Adriel doesn’t discriminate based on race, gender, nationality, sexuality, etc., he allows all to come worship him, believing that the noble ideals of knighthood and chivalry can be upheld by all. While he values freedom, he tends to favor feudal societies more than republics and democracies as feudalism is easier for knights to function in. While many knights are nobles and despite his ability to grant spells from the Nobility domain, he actually cares not if a knight is from noble stock or comes from the ranks of the common folk. As long as they embrace the code of chivalry and desire to follow it to the best of their ability, the Angelic Paladin shall bless them. Nobility to him, must be earned (although if you're born into it, then you must work to keep it!).

I'll try and do the other one (along with one more deity that I came up with) tomorrow! Again thank you for this opportunity!


Progress Check. Just a few more things to detail & Ishalla will be all set. I hope her origin story gels well enough with the given history of the universe. I'm certainly willing to tweak it, although I believe it fits well enough.

I've already got some potential adversaries & alliances in mind ;)

Alignment: Chaotic Good
Titles: Prime Matriarch, First Mother, Mother of Beasts
Symbol: Horned tiger head, typically set over a lush, green backdrop.
Sacred Animals: All animals are sacred to Ishalla, but she favors cats, particularly tigers.
Favored Weapon: Javelin

Dogma:
Spread the teachings of the First Mother through word & deed. Explore the untold wonders of the natural world & bring its treasures to the poor souls chained by the unnatural strictures of civilization. Use force, if necessary, to free those creatures bound unwillingly or unknowingly by such societies. Liberate any natural lands corrupted by the forces of civilization. Work to develop & expand Life in all its natural glory. Bask in the ancient wisdom of the natural world; revel in Her profound beauty; & channel Her glorious might to protect & advance the growth of your brothers & sisters.

Philosophy:
There is nothing more beautiful or profound than the varied aspect of Life. The proliferation of Life is the single greatest good one can accomplish. As Nature is the most vibrant physical expression of Life itself, the greatest mortal pursuit is then the exploration, understanding, & expansion of Nature.

While Death is certainly an integral part of the life cycle, it remains just that: a part; a mere stopping point in the circle of Life. Thus, reincarnation is a gift given easily & freely to all the most vivacious examples Nature has to offer; the strongest, fastest, smartest & most lustful creatures are to be reborn, so that they may further push the boundaries of Life. Undeath is abhorrent, and should be destroyed whenever it is encountered.

Origin:
Ishalla is a young deity (in a relative sense, as a being beyond the scope of time). Her creation was actually the result of other deities’ actions - a natural outgrowth of their first experiments with Life. As the early mortal creations of the gods formed the first life outside of godhood, so did those beings give birth to Life itself. As Life grew & prospered (as it will always do, in all its forms), the immutable force connecting its vast existence began to take on a will of its own. This being, gaining awareness & drawing itself from the collective anima of the natural world, became the Goddess Ishalla, the First Mother; Life Incarnate.

Personality:
On the surface, Ishalla seems hard & mirthless, as an untamed jungle might appear to those unfamiliar with such a wild environment. Yet, beneath her apparent “kill-or-be-killed” demeanor, Ishalla carries unbounded love for the great passion that is Life (birth, death, love, hate, and above all else, growth). While the fierce goddess does respect & reward strength among her followers, she also appreciates the beauty inherent in Nature’s more delicate creations, and sees it as her duty to protect & promote such beauty, as well as the strength needed to protect it.

Appearance, Worship, Domains, & Divine Relations to come :)

Liberty's Edge

Additional Servants
Freedom Zappers - Freedom Zappers are Clerics or Wizards who have been gifted with the unique power to bestow freedom of will on beings who would normally be restricted in their moral leanings. Without otherwise altering the creatures in question, they can remove the inclinations of various creatures, from lycanthropes to orcs to hobgoblins to liches to devils, toward the alignments typically associated with them.

When struck by the Zap of Freedom spell of which Freedom Zappers are capable, intrinsically evil or neutral beings (who fail a will save) are met with a powerful daze. As their minds snap back into focus, they cannot help but question the ethical philosophy they have held up until that point. This urge to question causes them to engage in a period of deep introspection lasting 2d4 weeks, during which they will rethink their moral and ethical beliefs before making a free choice to either keep their current ethical standing or abandon it for a new one. They may change their alignment again as they choose at any point after this. It is perfectly possible to influence the development of the creature’s new philosophy by normal means such as conversation and argumentation, but it is not possible to do so with mind-effecting magic.

The urge to introspect begins to effect the beings immediately. However, creatures in combat when hit with this spell are often not in a position to abandon combat immediately, especially if superiors are around from whom they fear punishment. As a result, unless there are very reliable means available to subdue them with magic or equipment, casting the Zap of Freedom is not a viable alternative to lethal force when innocent creatures are in immediate danger.

If the creature in question is already of a moral alignment other than that associated with their species, or if they succeed on a will save against the spell, they are not affected by the urge to introspect and reconsider their philosophy, but strict alignment restrictions on them are still removed. Without such a period of introspection, however, it is significantly less likely that they will actually change their alignment. (A Pit Fiend will probably continue on being Lawful Evil even if it is technically made free to change its alignment).

Freedom Zappers are not very rare, and their existence has had a significant effect on Zodaxus’ church. Many of Zodaxus’ most powerful champions are monsters which are usually inherently evil, but have been affected by the spell. Zodaxus is the only good-aligned god who can be regularly seen fighting alongside sentient undead werebeasts, or, more rarely, evil outsiders or chromatic dragons. Freedom Zappers or groups of adventurers containing one or more Freedom Zapper regularly forage into the wilds with the explicit mission to find monstrous and evil creatures on whom to bestow free will. It is not uncommon for such creatures to seek out Zodaxus’ churches during their subsequent period of introspection. Standing protocols exist for when this occurs, and call for such beings to be presented with Zodaxus’ philosophies and with the literature of various good-aligned philosophical schools.

That restrictions on alignment have been removed in no way erases any consequences for changing alignment. For example, any creature with levels in antipaladin, barbarian or monk or who is a cleric of an evil god will suffer the full consequences of an alignment change if they move to an alignment which is forbidden for their class.

Spells Associated With Zodaxus

Freedom Zap - Adequately described above.

Be As Groovy as Me - For five minutes, the target of this spell receives a + 1 Gajillion + 1 Billion + 1 Million +1,000 +100 +99 +98 +97 +96 +20 competence bonus to all Perform (Dance) checks made to impress or entertain others.

Summon Awesome - This spell may be used to summon any non-animate, non-magical, non-sentient item. This item may be used for entertainment or recreational use only. Any attempt to use the item for combative purposes, to study the item seriously or to use it to aid in the completion of a difficult task will cause the item to vanish. The item vanishes on its own after 5d8+2 (Avg. 24.5) hours. Casting Summon Awesome again to summon the same or another object also causes the currently summoned object to vanish.

Additional Information on Dogma: While many good gods look down upon the undead as abominations, Zodaxus rejects such attitudes as judgmental and prejudiced. Many more beings look down upon aberrations as things-that-should-not-be, view werebeasts as wild animals, treat kobalds and goblins like pests to be eradicated, and assign no more moral patiency to a red dragon than to a tornado, Zodaxus preaches that such beings are victims enslaved by their own evil natures, who should ideally be freed and should never be blamed for what they are. He does not preach against fighting back against such beings to defend oneself or others, indeed, he encouraged such behavior. Rather, he rejects the idea that the eradication of such beings is either necessary or ideal in the long term. He would prefer to see them given free will and allowed to live in harmony with others.

Followers of Zodaxus are therefore commanded to be kind to such beings if there is a legitimate possibility of them changing their ways, or if there is reason to believe they already have. A being who shows contempt for a reformed monster will receive great scorn from Zodaxus’ worshipers.

Additional Information on Relations: While hedonism, extreme forms of recreation and freedom fighting are still the first things which come to mind when one thinks of Zodaxus or the loose clustering of followers he calls a church, he is widely recognized as the de facto god of reformed monsters. This is true not only because his church is able and willing to remove the violent urges from reformed monsters, (many civilized orcs, for example, willingly submit to a Freedom Zapper’s wand to be rid of their violent urges), but because Zodaxus’ refusal to judge harmless actions allows them the most freedom to find lifestyles which do not harm others but still suit aspects of their nature which are morally neutral but unpleasant. This is especially true of beings who need or simply wish to consume parts of the bodies of sapient creatures. Zodaxus’ church seeks to provide outlets for such urges rather than leave them unquenchable except by a reversion to evil, and is unobstructed by taboos against cannibalism where the remains in question are not needed to perform a resurrection spell.

(I don't want this element of Zodaxus to take over his personality. Despite this being a very central trait of Zodaxus' church in the minds of many who do not worship him, to him, It's not even something worth bringing up in most contexts. It's really more like an recurring background detail in places where his church holds a lot of influence.)

Silver Crusade

One other question I will ask: is it possible for the people who have submitted multiple gods to get multiple gods into the campaign or is there a limit of one god per person?


ThePuppyTurtle wrote:
One other question I will ask: is it possible for the people who have submitted multiple gods to get multiple gods into the campaign or is there a limit of one god per person?

One God per person I'm afraid.


Yuugasa wrote:
ThePuppyTurtle wrote:
One other question I will ask: is it possible for the people who have submitted multiple gods to get multiple gods into the campaign or is there a limit of one god per person?
One God per person I'm afraid.

Good. I'm glad of that myself and I say that as someone who submitted two. I'd feel bad shutting someone out while I got an extra. I just wanted to increase my chances of getting in with one ;)

Silver Crusade

How will the rolls work? Will you do them, or will you trust us to?

Also, will greater gods autofail on natural ones such that, for example, in a contest of wills, a greater God rolling a 1 would lose to a lesser God rolling a 4 even though 1 + 5 is more than 4? Likewise with natural twenties for lesser gods, what a lesser God with a 20 be a greater God with a 17?

Also, if I can do anything, why can't I do universe disrupting things like blowing up the nine hells? Sure, Asmodeus would try to stop me, but I have a 50% chance of beating him in the contest of wills. Also, there are no consequences for failure, so I can just try again and again until I succeed.

Final question, is there any way that multiple gods can collaborate to combine their roles? I guess by default that might just take the form of each one trying whatever it is in turn meaning that two tries are had.


I'm curious about those mechanics myself, particularly with 3+ gods applying their will to the same thing. That seems like the most important rule to me at this point, & I would vote against the mechanics simply being multiple attempts.

Yuugasa did say that the gods are able to keep each other out of their personal realms, so with regards to acting on another god's realm it can probably be handled the same as acting directly on another god (a deity's realm is often described as being a direct extension of their will).

In general, I imagine anything so disruptive & directly confrontational as trying to completely destroy something dear to one god (such as their personal demesne, or a favorite mortal) would pretty quickly devolve into actual combat between the gods, regardless of the contest's outcome. Which, of course, would result in mutual destruction.

So, while there's no direct consequence to failure, messing with a god (even as a god yourself) is probably inadvisable.

Ishalla, for one, would not simply stand by and watch your actions, unless they were directed against a truly despised enemy. Even then, another god acting with such blatant disrespect toward a peer is not likely to earn many friends among his fellow gods (again, the only known beings that can destroy him).

"Winning" in this game is less about dice and modifiers & more about clever politics. The way I see it, all the deities would have some sort of gentleman's agreement to only directly oppose each other in proscribed situations, or within certain Realms, so as to avoid the otherwise inevitable mutually-assured destruction. As far as the bulk of our divine interactions go, we pretty much have to leave each other alone, operate within "The Game" Yuugasa previously described, or destroy each other.


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I shared the same questions as just previously posted.

Also, here are the two remaining deities I'm submitting.

Wiwneas:
Lady of the Sky, Princess of the Winds, Warrior of Storms, Sky of All People, She Who Mounts the Clouds, and the Swift Beast Runner, Wiwneas is the goddess of the winds, the arts, and warfare. She is usually depicted as a cheetah-headed human, an elven women with the fur and markings of a cheetah, or as a catfolk cheetah. She often wears a suit of mithral chainmail and carrying her favored weapon, a short spear, in addition to a longsword and a lion’s shield. Her domains are Air, Good, Liberation, Protection, Travel, War, and Weather. Her symbol is a cheetah’s face with two lightning bolts forming the teardrop markings. Her worshippers are usually explorers, travelers, good-aligned barbarians and druids, and adventurous cavaliers and fighters. Artists and bards also worship her as well, praying to her for guidance and to gift them with artistic inspirations. Cavaliers who worship her tend to ride lions, tigers, and dire cheetahs. The Lady of the Sky has several paladins that worship her.

Many of her followers, except for her catfolk worshippers, will often tattoo their bodies with some sort of symbol representing the cheetah. Some will even go so far as to tattoo their entire bodies with the markings of a cheetah. Wiwneas teaches her followers to follow their desires and to experience the world. She does, however, have a temper, which is usually exhibited when she unleashes immense storms. While she usually resides in the Elemental Plane of Air, racing amongst the clouds of the plane, she can also be found on the Material Plane, although she rarely interferes with the affairs of mortals, unless necessary even then she doesn’t actively involve herself. It is said that her palace, the Land of the Sky Plains, a large area made up of floating jungles and savannahs, holds many artworks and sculptures where the spirits of deceased artists continue to craft wonders for their goddess. It is not known where she came from, although stories tell that she was born at the creation of the world, slowly forming herself from the first winds that blew across the lands.

Xijen:
Known as the Bringer of the Healing Arts, the Jungle Queen of Revelry, the Jaguar Queen, the Princess of the Obsidian Blade, the Thrill Seeking Goddess, Princess of Beauty and Charm, Lady Precious Green, and the Goddess in the Forest, Xijen is a goddess of athletics, healing, nature, and love. She is either depicted as a naked muscular beautiful female human with jaguar features, a tall jaguar catfolk, a jaguar-headed female jungle giant covered with tribal tattoos and wearing a feather headdress, or as a jaguar wearing a crown made of vines, bark, and leaves. Often worshipped by revelers, doctors, athletes, hedonists, healers, witches, sorcerers, druids, barbarians, rangers, elves (especially wild and wood elves), half-elves, half-orcs, and gnomes, she is known for tackling physical challenges of all sorts just for the sheer thrill of it. Her domains are Animal, Chaos, Charm, Glory, Good, Healing, and Plant, and her holy symbol is an obsidian jaguar paw print with green vines circling it, while her favored weapon is the battleaxe. Her worshippers strive to be both physically fit and beautiful at the same time. Her faithful often host athletic events where participants show off their athletic abilities and bodies (some cultures that worship her require the athletes to wear no clothes at all, while others allow the contestants to wear loincloths or tunics; she doesn’t really care, although there is a great deal of debate between priests and religious scholars on what is appropriate for these games).

Xijen is also a goddess of healing, and many of her clerics are skilled herbalists, midwives, and healers. Many bar patrons lift a cup or glass in her honor, while some of her temples also function as brothels. Ancient religious texts say that she was once a nature spirit who became curious about mortals and later became a goddess. Her teachings say that the strong, beautiful, and fit should lead the weaker, and bravery and charisma are the greatest qualities anyone can have, ruler and citizen alike. Everyone should scorn cowardice, Xijen teaches. Ugliness is temporary and beauty is always in the eye of the beholder. While her clerics value strength, they do not value domination. They go to great lengths to prove their physical abilities (they do realize the difference between difficult and suicidal challenges however). Her clerics tend to wear green and black attire. There are many tales of her dalliances with mortals, ranging from humans to half-orcs to elves to gnomes to catfolk to even giants, and there are just as many tales of great heroes born from such liaisons. She is often served by fey creatures, but she despises fey that plague or harm mortals, and several stories exist of her punting redcaps straight into the sun. Her dominion is often believed to be of the First World, and is known as the Jungle of Pyramids, since many step pyramids dot her jungle home along with arenas and coliseums. Nature is precious, and while she despises excessive logging, she understands that people need to cut down trees to make a living; she expects her followers to ensure that civilization and nature can coexist. This causes tension between her faith and those of other nature deities.


ThePuppyTurtle wrote:

How will the rolls work? Will you do them, or will you trust us to?

Also, will greater gods autofail on natural ones such that, for example, in a contest of wills, a greater God rolling a 1 would lose to a lesser God rolling a 4 even though 1 + 5 is more than 4? Likewise with natural twenties for lesser gods, what a lesser God with a 20 be a greater God with a 17?

Also, if I can do anything, why can't I do universe disrupting things like blowing up the nine hells? Sure, Asmodeus would try to stop me, but I have a 50% chance of beating him in the contest of wills. Also, there are no consequences for failure, so I can just try again and again until I succeed.

Final question, is there any way that multiple gods can collaborate to combine their roles? I guess by default that might just take the form of each one trying whatever it is in turn meaning that two tries are had.

Each player will roll for their own God, I'll roll for NPCs.

There are no automatic failures or successes on the D20 roll.

You absolutely can do things like blow up the Nine Hells, or heck even everything in the multiverse, though it is likely other Gods will gainsay you and you will create real enemies pretty damn fast.

You can keep trying to have the same fight with another God over an issue again and again, however you cannot do so immediately after a Will contest is resolved. A Will contest represent an epic and exhausting struggle and the winner has his results on that particular issue last for an entire month of real life time, although the same Gods can then fight over separate issues immediately or another God can challenge the winner over the same issue and have a contest. The one exception to this is when a God ascends in divine rank, at which point he may immediately retry all his relevant losing issues at his new modifier, no matter how much time has passed with each one.

In practice Gods rarely directly interfere with other Gods personal interests in a direct way for even if such fights never result in fatal contests they can result in soul crushing campaigns of harassment between the deities that can last literally forever.

When this game was first experimented with we tried a system where Gods could combine powers against others but this tended to only have two results, groups of Gods bullying lone Gods with nothing the lone God can do about it at all and rivalries seeing the entire pantheon congeal into a two party system which, while it had a lot of politics going on, was not much fun at all.

So Gods cannot combine powers against other Gods, they all stand alone and equal. However alliances can still matter as Gods can face a God they don't like and all individually fight him on the same issue, which will likely result in their victory.


Are there ever modifiers to the d20 Will contest? Or is it always just chance?


Tanner Nielsen wrote:
Are there ever modifiers to the d20 Will contest? Or is it always just chance?

The only modifiers are +5 to the roll for being a Greater deity or +10 for being an Elder deity. To the rest of the multiverse the Gods are unstoppable, even unfightable, forces. To each other they are true equals(when of the same rank).


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Yuugasa wrote:


To the rest of the multiverse the Gods are unstoppable, even unfightable, forces.

I'm going to create Tokyo just so I can stomp around in it. ;)


Ah okay.

And I forgot to mention the alignments of my deities:

Thoral: Lawful Good

Adriel: Lawful Good

Wiwneas: Neutral Good

Xijen: Chaotic Good


Two days till final selection, we'll get this show on the road soon.


Well Im not applying, but if I was, it would be with this:
Claptrap was a simple maintenance droid on the planet Pandora. Yet this Claptrap was not without its faults, being prone to glitches he developed his own eccentric personality. Sadly, this personality was defiant of his betters and so he was shipped off to Pandora.
Once there he quickly developed a love for explosives and it became his personal mission to create the biggest explosion possible, and eventually to blow up the planet. He succeeded.
This one tiny droid had managed to accumulate so much explosive power within a single place that he managed to crack the planets crust, fracturing it irredeemably and exposing its core. Whats worse Claptrap was still unsatisfied (after all, the planet still existed) and he then succeeded in creating a permanent interplanetary portal from the heart of the core to... The heart of the nearest sun. How, no one quite knows, and any who did died on that planet. Truly Claptrap had managed to create the biggest explosion in all of history as he simultaneously vaporized the planet and drained a sun, and in this exchange of colossal energies, Claptrap was transformed, instead of being destroyed he ascended to godhood.

Claptrap would be the Paragon of robots, explosions and planetary disasters. He would be highly eccentric and whimsical, sometimes straight out irrational. He would receive a quiet, small prayer from every little robot that does its job, and a loud, unquiet scream from every robot that goes rogue. He would give blessings to every small disaster that hopes to become something more, often encouraging them to brighter, more vibrant blazes of glory. :)
His domain would be a plain of eternal combustion, similar to the plane of fire but infinitely more volatile where everything is in a state of constant destruction. Here the native creatures are beings of pure logic and code, unbound by physical circuitry. Here the axis of chaos vs law is extreme and with very little middle ground, yet most entities that exist here possess some degree of both, law in logic, chaos in combustion. Or the creatures that exist here are almost universally lawful, bound as they are in logic yet existing in an environment of pure chaos, with the god being the exact opposite, built out of the pure substance of law and order yet has personality of pure eccentricity (chaos).

What do you think?


Isn't Claptrap the robot from Borderlands?


And I believe Pandora is that games' setting, eah.


Yup :)
I have bee "borrowing" him from that setting for a long time, although my character is named the same (and named generically), he has developed his own personality that is quite different from the one in the game with the 2 main similarities being his physical body and his "race" being built as close as I could and the "races" eccentric tendencies (kind of like gnomes but more pronounced).
When Claptrap was in a game he had a love of explosives, tools, books and helping people, however he was quite socially inept sometimes (like dont invite the bandit in). He also was very craft focused as he was the maintenance droid for a small outpost and it was his job to keep it maintained. I seem to remember that he had this love interest with an electric generator when he first started his campaign.

So built to resemble, but had his own personality \^-^/

Edit: but I did think it would be really cool if he actually achieved his goal (blow up pandora) and even ascended in the process. While it would be really cool to play him out as a diety, playing as a "god" just erks that religious part of me the wrong way, so I wont be joining this one, I just think its a really neat idea :)


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Pathfinder Lost Omens Subscriber

I am interested(i'm very late to the party though, since i just found out about this thread) in this but please tell me if this has been done.

Innovation:

My current idea is a god of innovation, Chaotic Neutral but embodying the more positive (not good) side of the alignment, specifically wanting to see improvements and the more you're willing to sacrifice to improve the better. The god is really interested in improvements in all forms, advancements in technology, magic, athleticism, war, politics, anything that can be improved.

He was created when the first sapient being first thought about how to improve itself.

He supports anything from genocide to possibly create a pure race to exercising compassion so that everyone can work together for society, he doesn't even care about results only that people tried.

He represents a spark of intelligence and will to change.

Name: unsure, I feel his name would be mutable and change constantly especially since he may represent crafting bone weapons to some people and star-drives for others to advanced planar magics to even other people. If i had to choose one, his name would be "Innovation" in the language of the worshipper.
Titles: The guide, Shepard, The kindler, The forger, The Tinkerer

Favored weapon: anything that someone has made by them self for their self.

Symbol: a single smote of fire, representing the kindling of new possibilities.

Domains: Chaos, Magic, Fire, Artifice

Worshippers: almost anyone, people who particularly emphasize bettering themselves, His religion is very personal and doesn't do well under a strict organized religion. His religion is like how Confucius is a religion. People worship him without even being truely aware he is being worshipped since he represents and idea.

Planar Domain: It has no name for every time you visit it may be different, it is a place constantly built up destroyed and built up again as it constantly is tried to be improved, not always successful even. There is no gravity(people can control their movement) and normal time.

I actually got another idea as well.

Xanth, Of the Ethereal Scales:

This is the god that created all dragons, It is a primordial entity and dragons arose when he had a particularly long engagement with another god in a material realm. Parts of his essence were cast adrift but they both backed off as they became aware of what was happening.

All Dragons represent various aspects of Xanth, Xanth is prideful, greedy and territorial, desiring material possessions for no other reason than to have them. Xanth represents to lesser mortals all seven sins and all seven virtues wrapped into one being.

Xanth only truely concerns himself with Dragons as he considers them to be a part of itself, and thus anything they own he too owns. beings of other races who make a significant tithe to Xanth may be gifted with part of his essence turning them into a Dragon. However, Xanth sometimes decides to claim lesser race offering them protection and guidance(so that his race could be the most prestigious)

Name: Xanth
Titles: The world serpent, Dragon of the Rainbow Scales, Ethereal Scaled, Mother of Dragons, Father of Dragons, The great One(from the point of view of dragons)

Alignment: True Neutral

Symbol: an Oborous

Favored Weapon: Claws

Domains: (Air, Fire, Earth, Water{only ever one based on dragon's type}), Travel, Glory

Worshippers: ALL DRAGONS, ALL OF THEM, unless some become confused and fall under the sway of another god for some reason. No Dragon is ignorant of Xanth's existence. Dragons worship Xanth by being themselves, a Dragon who doesn't worship Xanth would be one trying to resist their urges. Dragons are immortal as they're part of Xanth when they "die" they're reborn later as another Dragon retaining memories from past "lives". Xanth is aware of all knowledge shared by Dragons, though individual dragons are not aware of each other's memories.

Planar Domain: Xanth's Lair, a Large open domain filled with Xanth's Possessions. Mostly gold, a few continents and planets, some preserved people, and various divine artifacts.

edit: may also throw in nurgle, papa nurgle loves you, but i'd rather do my own ideas. :P

edit2: i'm preferring Xanth heavily right now.


Pathfinder Lost Omens Subscriber
Yuugasa wrote:
Tanner Nielsen wrote:
Are there ever modifiers to the d20 Will contest? Or is it always just chance?
The only modifiers are +5 to the roll for being a Greater deity or +10 for being an Elder deity. To the rest of the multiverse the Gods are unstoppable, even unfightable, forces. To each other they are true equals(when of the same rank).

what if two gods ally and try to oppose another god in a specific task, is it a modifier to a single roll or does the other god have to beat both of the other gods rolls?

Yuugasa wrote:
So Gods cannot combine powers against other Gods, they all stand alone and equal. However alliances can still matter as Gods can face a God they don't like and all individually fight him on the same issue, which will likely result in their victory.

and it's answered...

Liberty's Edge

Further Information on Dogma
Zodaxus' Church condemns the concepts of respect for authority figures, elders, superiors, or indeed of any group over and above any other. A position of authority does not entitle someone to better treatment. No one owes anyone anything that is not entailed by basic human morality, which all people are entitled to. Authority figures demanding that they be respected over and above peers, keeping in mind that the obedience of commands does not entail respect nor vice versa, are misguided at best and much more likely selfishly guarding their egos from criticism.

It is anathema to Zodaxus for the taste of any one person to be held above those of any other. Pleasure is subjective and people do not decide what brings it to them. Therefore, it is no ones right to define what others are to find pleasurable. There might be some sources of pleasure which cannot be pursued without harming others, but even then the sources of pleasure are not intrinsically worse than others, nor the beings who hold them wrong to find such things pleasurable, only to pursue such pleasure at the expense of others.


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Pathfinder Adventure Path Subscriber

Osoro
Master of the Prides, He of a Hundred Wives, Mother's Hope
Neutral Good God of Lions, Family, Polyamory and Protection
Domains: Good, Community, Protection, Strength, War
Favored Weapon: Longspear
Holy Symbol: A male lion's head inside a ring of flowers
Sacred Animal: Lion
Sacred Colors: Yellow and purple

Osoro is either a dark-skinned man, robed in the furs of a lion, or a mountain-sized lion with the gentle voice of a man. His followers can't quite agree. Nervous spouses-to-be pray to Osoro before their wedding for a happy marriage. Parents and spouses pray to Osoro to protect their loved ones in war. Travelers in strange lands pray to Osoro to protect them from beasts.

Osoro's followers have no prohibition on polyamorous relationships. Indeed, Osoro has one hundred wives and too many children to count. It is expected that clerics of Osoro (of either gender) support at least two spouses, and that they also protect those who have lost a spouse, either in death or divorce.

Osoro is a prideful but lazy ruler over his Celestial Savanna, a realm in the Neutral Good plane of Nirvana. At the center of these grasslands lay his rock-hewn fortress, the Kiniun Isinmi. His 27th wife, the Solar Angel Tesera, built Kiniun Isinmi and often rules in his stead.

Osoro attracts clerics of both genders, though men tend to outnumber women. Osoro teaches that all must work together but does not teach that hard work is a reward in and of itself. In more advanced worlds, his cults chide those who spend too much time chasing wages that they neglect their families. In fact, a key teaching in Osoron philosophy is to not work too hard. Osoro does not venerate war nor enjoy it, but sees its necessity in a world where evils exist. Osoro has taken on the War domain to protect soldiers so that they may go back to their prides. Osoro has sent his Herald, his daughter, a massive dragonne called the Roaring Protector after generals who cynically and carelessly lead their troops to slaughter.

Spousal abuse is one of the most serious crimes in an Osoron society, and can be punishable by exile or even death.

Osoro tends to be gentle and unassuming. Osoro is often called to be a negotiator in theistic disputes, as he usually has no side and only wants to get back to looking over his many prides of followers.


I like the level of detail on Zodaxus, he is definitely a shoe in.


Pathfinder Lost Omens Subscriber

Yuugasa, Are my concepts okay? I wanted to know that before diving deeper.


I just wanted to see if I had everything right in my submissions.

And excellent and amazing work there, Will Huston!


I'm going to back out. I've seen some awesome entries but my enthusiasm has waned. Anybody who wants her, feel free to claim Errolyn for yourself.

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