Lords of Creation

Game Master stringburka

Name: Aeon, The Heavenly Light, The Guide, The light of the World.
Played By: Bane88
Domains (Portfolios): Light(Sun, Heaven, Angels) Life(Health, Vitality, Growth)
Theme: Angelic God, Protector of Creation
Alignment: LG
Attack: 3d6
Defense: 3d6
HP: 40
Description: No, oh no. Its is all lost, all of the light of the worlds, all of the followers and their families.

Aeon floated in the empty after the battle, he had survived to be racked with the pain of loss, the doom of all worlds, he had felt the last light of life blink out, and now he sobbed alone, mourning the greates tradgety.

Aeon knew not how long he drifted, how long does it take to recover from the loss of trillions of beings you cared for, whose names you knew, whose worlds you walked upon. Long had he observed the cylce, birth death, rebirth, the growth of creation. Gone now.

A minute, an eternity, it mattered not, eventually Aeon calmed himself and steeled his resolve, this could be a world of light and hapiness once more.

Feeling hope once more, Aeon set his mind and strength to the task at hand.

How's this? I think it helps diversify the group a bit.

Ask, and ye shall receive:

Erande was the member of a group of great heroes that rose up among mortals during the great war: Sir Mylos Fearbreaker, a noble archer and leader of men, Coral: a wizard prodigy, Kolker Stormhammer: Stout dwarven warrior and craftsman, and Koltos, a reformed assassin. Erande travelled with them to document their tale in the battles with the monstrosities that arose from the war between the gods. During a lull in the fighting, Sir Mylos pulled Erande away from the others and sent him to get aid from their elven allies, saying "You are the most familiar of us amongst them, and have the most friends there. We will need the aid of their army to hold the gates on this side so that we can go and convince the gods to break off of their war before they destroy all of creation. "

It was only afterwards that Erande realized that he had been left behind intentionally by his friends, in a misguided effort to "protect" him. Rallying the elves to his side, He raced to the gate in order to have them secure it while he chased his companions through the portal. Arriving at the portal, Erande was outpacing the elves by a good clip and thus was the only one who was bathed in the energy of the massive explosion that accompanied the destruction of the portal. The last thing he saw before losing consciousness was the wall of white that was approaching him.

On waking, he realized that he was floating in a void, surrounded on all sides by white. He also realized that he had ascended to the ranks of the heavenly, as if that meant anything now.

Looking in all directions, he saw what could only be several other nascient deities beginning to work on a world. Instinctively he wanted to join them, though he couldn't tell anyone who asked why that would be, only that it had to be so.

Aeon: You have my approval (but need one more). It'd be nice if you could spell-check your in-character posts, if that wouldn't be to much of a hassle.

Right now we have:

NG Writer of the First Epic
(Pending) LG Angelic God
LG Paladin God of the Underworld

CN Lovecraftian Goddess of Paradoxes
N Winter Goddess
N Watcher God (The Abstract Nothing)

NE Lord of Death and Destruction

We have a lot of gods focused on varying concepts and life and death, but few that focus on anything material. I still feel this is a quite varied group, though, but further players should probably consider a god character that deals more with material business.

Very well. I usually write them up in Drive, but the server is being stupid right now.

ya, seems like we need a god of trade, god of travel, god of fertility, and god seas, at the very least. the winter goddess might take over weather, but if not, we'll need one of those gods too.

Well, I don't feel every concept _needs_ a god, like say, I don't feel not having a god of trade would make the world weird.

But it'd be nice with someone who's interested in creating stuff like... I don't know, actual ground to stand on. Of course, one doesn't need to be an earth deity to do that, but you get my drift.

you means stuff hasn't already been created. Are we like playing from the beginning of time?

@DoubleGold: This character is actually very easy for me to keep track of; don't worry about it. ^^

@Ilja: It may be worth keeping in mind that Yidhra is a creator as well as a destroyer; she likes change, but is completely aware of the fact that things need to exist in order to be changed in the first place... and her destruction tends to be of the "let something new rise from the ashes" variety, rather than "burn the fields and salt the earth". ^^ So she'll probably help out on the side of creation for awhile, especially early on, if only to make things more interesting later.

One thing to consider is that some of us will expand our portfolios as the game goes on. Frex, Azdan is not yet a god of evil, but if he gets pushed in that direction...

I like AEON, and I think it's funny he'd be played by someone named Bane.

I want to thank Erande for his additional text. That helps us get to know one another.

you means stuff hasn't already been created. Are we like playing from the beginning of time?

We are playing after the end of creation. A massive war between the gods has ripped existence apart and everything is destroyed, except a few survivors. No materia exists, nothing physical or metaphysical outside of the god characters.

@Ilja: It may be worth keeping in mind that Yidhra is a creator as well as a destroyer; she likes change, but is completely aware of the fact that things need to exist in order to be changed in the first place... and her destruction tends to be of the "let something new rise from the ashes" variety, rather than "burn the fields and salt the earth". ^^ So she'll probably help out on the side of creation for awhile, especially early on, if only to make things more interesting later.

Yeah, that's fortunate. I have some ideas of my own that Oenar can do. It's interesting that we are somewhat similar in that aspect, being orderly and chaotic at the same time; Oenar likes order and symmetry, structure like a snowflake, but can also be wild and everchanging like a blizzard.

One thing to consider is that some of us will expand our portfolios as the game goes on. Frex, Azdan is not yet a god of evil, but if he gets pushed in that direction...

Absolutely. I can see most of us able to go in several different directions depending on what happens.

I like AEON, and I think it's funny he'd be played by someone named Bane.

Are you a mod Azdan? Is this a second endorsement?

Ya, I could see Erande taking on healing, or perhaps even civilization based on things that happen in game. I look forward to having "in the beginning" discussion IC, cause it'll be interesting for all the "end of the world"/"I am the void" deities to talk about creation, if nothing else.

I am a moderator, and I do endorse your new character idea.

I am ready to drop the first "In the beginning" post whenever we have enough activity.

I'll start the thread when I wake tomorrow, probably around 3-4 AM EDT, so there's some more time to prepare for those joining now. I'm going to bed soon though, so can't check new appliants until then.

This seems very interesting. The only thing keeping me from creating a character is that this game seems confusing. And character creation rules are different, I know I would make several mistakes before getting it right.

Yeah, DG LoC games are way more abstract and less "rulesy" than PF the only thing you really need is to start off with two domains, and remember that these are not PF domains, though you could use some of those if you so choose. For example you could be a Kraft God of food(Cheese, Noodles) and Technology(Kitchen Appliances) then you just need alignment and you are set. Most of the roleplaying I've seen in LoC games is in the form of your God interacting with people and heroes that he creates. So the person you might roleplay as the most is Goldy Lord of Cheese Herald of Kraft, who you created using your action points (AP).

...Understand?

This seems very interesting. The only thing keeping me is creating a character is that this game seems confusing. And character creation rules are different, I know I would make several mistakes before getting it right.

The rules in this game are more abstract than say in pathfinder. They are much more in the style of "codified guidelines" than mechanical rules, in general.

The rules part of the character creation process is the easy part, because it's very rules light.

- You start out as a fledgling deity with two domains (broad concepts that your god deals in, like "water"), further specified into your portfolio (more specific things you deal in, like "sharks"). The portfolio doesn't have a limit on how much you can have in it, but try to keep it concise enough to be easily graspable (2-6 would be a good number)
- You only have 3 other statistics; attack, defense, and hit points. These are only used for combating other gods and demigods. You have 10 "points" to distribute between them as you wish (minimum one in each); each point in attack or defense is a d6, each point in hit points is 10 hit points.

Those are the only hard rules for character creation. Other than that, it's mostly the discription that is relevant - who your god actually is.

Creating a character is actually pretty simple:

1) create a concept of a deity (thor; Raven; Shiva; what have you)

2) select his domains (2) and portfolios (the things he/she is the god/ess of: Thor would be storms and heroes (so weather and glory domains); Raven would be trickery and shapeshifting(so trickery and chaos); Shiva would be destruction (so war and destruction domains)).

3) take 10 points and divide them between the following aspects:

Attack

Defense

HP

based on your character concept (Thor would have something like 4d6 attack/2d6 defense/40 HP; Raven would have something like 1d6 attack/5d6 defense/40 HP; Shiva would have something like 3d6 attack/4d6 defense/30 hp)

write up your backstory and what you did before the Great War between the gods, as well as a description of what his/her iconography would depict him/her as.

EDIT: dang double ninjas!

But how do you create things? Can I just create land endlessly or extend 1 trillion miles north south east and west? Can I make flat Earths?

That would probably fall under the the "Create Land" ability, which allows you to create ground in Australia-sized chunks (either on or off the planet). So you'd probably have to do it over time if you wanted to make that much land. ^^

Forgot to say, maybe I want to create an Earth made of metal instead of rock. Imagine Iron ground, Mithril made mountains. Stainless Steel hills. Trees made of silver instead of wood.
Anyway, how much stuff can I create at once?

DoubleGold:
Each god has a number of Action Points (AP) that they can spend. You start with 15 AP. Each week you gain a number of more AP (4 for us as fledgling deities).

Land is generally created by one of two actions:
Create Land (2 AP) - Creates something up to about the size of australia.
Forge Land (3 AP) - Creates something up to about the size of north america, and can create stuff like a small moon.

So yeah, you could immediately spend all your AP to do an enormous swath of land the size of 5 north americas, but after that your power would be quite limited (though of course you're still a god). Personally I'd prefer to use my really powerful stuff more rarely, to do the things I feel are most key for my character. Having a few in reserve could also be useful, if something unexpected happens.

Weave Plane is noted as giving you the ability to create a planet, so you can at least create on the world level. ^^ Start with that?

Personally, I would say that stuff like iron ground and mithril mountains feel as if they fit best in a Sanctum, rather than as part of the "normal world". That's just how I feel though. It's a great question, and probably something we should determine before the game starts; how far can you go from what's considered "normal" world stuff, and does it have any extra cost?

What are other people's thoughts about it?

It's weird, but it's ground.

I'm the Goddess of Paradoxes, and I am obligated to support anything that is both insane and awesome.

Seriously, though, it looks like the game has already addressed that with Rule 1: "You can't do something huge to someone else's god without consent, or at least discussion."

I think that reasonably extends to actions in general. For example, if we had a metal world and it had oceans of mercury (or something), it would be very wrong to try and make it so people could ONLY play on the metal world if, say, a goddess of water wanted to be on an ocean world instead. No actions should seriously cripple a deity's ability to be themselves - not unless the god's being killed, anyway, which is a slightly different scenario.

Besides, we're gods, and there's enough room in the universe for everyone.

If somebody thinks an action will be big, they should talk with others about it first. ^^ I'm game for pretty much anything as long as it doesn't stop people from having fun.

You could also use your Cosmic Decree (of which you get 1) to say that something causes the entire planet to turn metal.

I think cosmic decrees are more... stating laws of nature or similarly.

I understand this to be more like instituting cosmic laws than creating or transforming something physically.

true, although I suppose if you wanted everything to be metal, that could apply. (not that I endorse an entire universe made of metal, mind.)

The great value of a game like this is in exploring the meta-strategy and relationships. It won't be any fun if we just spend a point to create a race born on top of a pile of gold, that doesn't need to eat. We'll have to trust one another to be reasonable and tell a story. Though there will be conflict and competitive elements, we should be able to resolve them while telling that story.

Ya, in a lot of ways games similar to this in the past have kinda devolved into what I'm told is like reality TV. Only with less b#$@!iness. or nudity (I assume there isn't nudity on reality tv, otherwise I would have to start watching it).

nah, not going to be in this one. Creating stuff feels like mini-dming to me. Not that I dislike Dming, it just feels like everyone is a mini-DM among other stuff.

The great value of a game like this is in exploring the meta-strategy and relationships. It won't be any fun if we just spend a point to create a race born on top of a pile of gold, that doesn't need to eat. We'll have to trust one another to be reasonable and tell a story. Though there will be conflict and competitive elements, we should be able to resolve them while telling that story.

Agreed - that said, if large chunks of the worlds where made of iron and gold it could still be a fully functional and exciting game - it'd just be different. Gold would have about the same trade value as real-world lead, being common and sharing most uses with lead. Tools made of iron would be the standard among any group that know how to make them.

In the setting of Planescape, the city of Sigil is mostly built of stone and iron, because those can easily be created by mages (Wall of Stone and Wall of Iron respectively). Wood however, is considered something of a luxury and imported from the outer planes.

ahhh, planescape. awesome setting, a-hole Solars. good times.

I reeeeally want to jump in.

Name: Jezebelle, our lady of passion, the eternal feminine
Played By: Scarletrose
Domains: Chaos, Charm
Portfolio: Love, Hate, Lust, Beauty.
Theme: Hedonistic Primadonna
Alignment: Chaotic Neutral
Attack: 3d6
Defense: 5d6
HP: 2d6
Description:
She is commonly known as the patron of art, of women and of lovers. She is considered a jealous and mischievous goddess, prone to quick mood swings. She is known to inspire all sorts of emotions; Love, hate, desire, jealousy, friendship, rage, mercy, vengeance. Among her followers are hedonists, lovers and avengers.
While revered in many cultures her mutable personality birthed quite a different array of cults sometimes focusing on very different aspects of the goddess and prone to violent religious wars, some say to much amusement of their goddess.

p.s. if I get approved I really feel Jezebelle should have some lovers among the gods... possibly some children from future entries. (the game is supposed to remain open am I correct?)
Any candidate?

So...how do you like my entrance? Sorry for the delay, it took a while while I was at work.

To make things clear, I'm not sure what's established and what's not, so I'm assuming we start from scratch, and thus things like death, hunger and evolution and the sun don't exist in this world yet, and figured that before an underworld (here used to describe an afterlife concept, I'm being deliberately vague as to whether the Amaranthine is above, below, or somewhere else on the planet) can really take off the concept of souls and an afterlife has to exist. Would I be right in this regard? If so, I'll be blowing a lot of 5 point acts early on to get said afterlife set up and functioning before I can turn my attention to more mundane matters.

And on that note, I'm trying to decide which title of Melehan's to include in my alias name before that's cinched for good. Sort of what he's most commonly referred to when his actual name's not being used. Any opinions in that regard anyone?

I was thinking that an afterlife is a safe assumption as soon as anyone decrees that souls are eternal.

You won't be hearing that from me.

Jezebelle: you have my approval.

Zousha: it was awesome! :D loved it

Nice ... I hope to get the second one...
I'll make a profile meanwhile

And in regards to my questions?

Jezebelle is approved as well from me. The only thing I'd like to see is an association of the portfolios with their corresponding domain. I think they're all under Charm?

Zousha: Well, what kinds of things start to exist when we create life is kind of nebulous, and basically it comes down to the decision of who is first to mention it. That's my take on it I guess. Things like the sun does not exist, though light and darkness as concepts do (due to Azdan's opening). Whether the creatures we create need to eat would be basically up to the first person to mention either that they create hunger or just that their beings need to eat.

As to your name, Argent Sovereign sounds awesome (at least to me who's a non-native english speaker, so those words don't have "obvious" meanings to me though I know what they mean), but Final Arbiter seems like more something people would actually say, as is Warden of the Dead. I like them all :3

Jezebelle is approved as well from me. The only thing I'd like to see is an association of the portfolios with their corresponding domain. I think they're all under Charm?

I would put love and hate under chaos, lust and beauty under charm

I agree there's a lot of freeform confusion. The rules are very loosely defined and I say we just go with that. As we make little assumptions, the world will develop, and anything truly new or strong, or that counters another player's text, should require points for sure. We don't want to take turns inventing a sun and a moon (although I will probably create a moon later) and yada until we're out of points several cycles in a row and haven't even started playing yet.

Which I why I reached out to roleplay with Melehan.

And I am totally not approving players who don't give more text in their intros. We need better defined ideas from compatible players. All the more so if we are to have so much freedom in the game in regards to how the world forms and what happens in the early going.

Having said that, welcome Jezebelle. : )

Alright so i am going to start jumping on this now (mostly because its moving FAST).
My first gut reaction is to make a god of dwarves (sadly the god of titans was taken already) but let me read more first :)

Fully agreed with the first part, steven. I think as the game goes by, we will get a better "feel" for what seems within the arbitrarily decidable and what needs points to happen.

Its also a good point on approval. So far, ive generally gone with "is this a character that seems to have a definite concept?", "is this a character where i get a feel of the personality?" and "is this a character that would fit decently with what is currently in the game"; Right now, we are quite few players representing quite few concepts, and as there can (and probably will be) player on player killings, its nice to have a decent array from the beginning. You do have a very valid point though, in that its preferrable to have players with more well-developed characters.

On the other hand, in a game that is as fluid as this one, having a too steictly defined character can be a hindrance for good roleplay too, especially when there is so little world yet.

Btw, i feel as if we should be ble to roleplay the races and beings we create too; it's fun, and makes our created beings actually feel like beings rather than just decoration. From objects to subjects, basically. Would anyone disagree with this?

No I agree, in the other LoC game I played, most of the RP was between players and their creations just as much as it was between players. Or players RPing heroes they've created to interact with other heroes/societies/gods. So I think that is what is natural Oenar.

So i have essentially figured out what i want to do, but i am looking for feedback and what you guys think/ how it could jive.
The first one is the god of the forge. He was the one that supplied the relics and monuments of the Old Gods. He is akin to a dwarf (for now) eternally at toil on his forge. I figure he would have the Artifice (Smithing, Mason, Metallurgy) and Toil (Earth, Manual Labor, Precious Metals) domains.
A short backstory and intro
The Forgemaster supplied the relics and monuments, the armor and weapons, the workshops and the tools of the other Gods even before the great war. At the start of the great war forces conspired to seal him away, for whoever held the forgemaster, held innumerable sway. Thrus The forgemaster (I really need to figure out a name :p) was counted among the dead yet escaped the destruction of the great war.
Now, he constantly beats away on his anvil with his mighty hammer and an endless Clang! Clang! Clang! rings out. Finally heard by someone, one of the other gods seeks him out and knows of him. This is enough to break the seal and he once again exists. Tho now all he has is is great forge and his memories of gods and eons long lost and lost even to him.

So basically ill start with the formidable artisan and a monument. I will have less direct control and influence over the world itself and instead be more focused on equipping the gods and heroes. (think of me as equipment support :D). As such, i imagine that i will
And it freaking ate the last of my post :(