IC HERE (http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=170875.0)
Plane Maths: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1LaOHXu6aRIHhvnJOIJIWvZHDINlJh-aAjsb-M84eVA4/edit?usp=sharing
Plane Texts: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1gQx6JuMZ4Ry5sLKyojUDJB0Y5FkzDBZLM_m-zAEXRFo/edit?usp=sharing
Discord: https://discord.gg/2N9pxBC [#mics-plane]
Against my better judgement, here's an experimental godgame that may or may not be ended after 10 turns depending on how well these mechanics hold up.
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The universe is new, its denizens young. For eons the plates moved and shifted, sustained by the nurture of the planes that fed it and insured. In time, life did grow, and from life grew the first intellect.
From that intellect, the gods were called to creation, like flies to a corpse.
Such began the Age of the Gods, the Games of the Divine, and the Usurpation of the Material by the Immaterial deities.
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So basically, this is a godgame where the gods are in control of the Material Plane/Reality/Creation/The Place Where the Sun Does Shine. All other planes are under the command of other entities or otherwise uncontrollable by the gods. Gods are semiphysical beings that have both a corporeal body, as well as a metaphysical soul that is kept in their Vault. A god cannot die as long as they have their Vault. Gods are creatures of Essence and use Essence to sustain themselves as well as act on Creation. Gods are very powerful beings, but rely on Essence for survival.
The world is already formed and has survived for many millions of years without divine intervention. Sapient life has only emerged very recently.
The universe's cosmology is made up both the material plane, and other attached planes of existence. These are connected to the material plane metaphysically rather in a physical sense. The universe can only handle so many planes before extraplanar thingamagremlins start ruining the stability of the planes and cause disruptions between them. Congesting the planar connections can cause all sorts of disruptions, including an unfortunate connection to planes best left forgotten.
Planes have 5 levels of connection to the material plane:
>Closed [The plane has minimal connection to the material plane. It has no passive influence on the world. Gods may draw a max of 3E from the plane.]
>Minimal [The plane has a few connections to the material plane. The plane's essence oozes into the world, altering small points of reality with its inherent traits. Gods may draw a max of 6E from the plane.]
>Moderate [THe plane has significant connection with the material plane. The planes essence reaches most parts of the plane, affecting it in small but clear ways. Gods may draw a max of 12E from the plane.]
>Open [The barrier between the plane and the material plane is porous. The conditions and essences of the plane are a constant part of reality in the material plane. Gods may draw a max of 24E from the plane.]
>Plane Merge Imminent [The plane and the material plane WILL begin a planesmerge Soon. The plane will cease to be and impose itself upon Creation. The plane is destroyed and the gods may no longer draw from it, but its essence becomes a permanent part of Creation itself.
These levels of connection are not linear and each tier is harder to reach than the last, unless other factors are at play. It much easier to go from Closed to Minimal than Moderate to Open. At the same time, once a plane has reached a higher connection, it is just as difficult to return it to the previous level.
Each level of connection counts as a further plane in regards to the universe's plane limit.
Connection between planes can be increased or decreased by a flat Essence investment.
Closed<>Minimal: 4 Essence
Minimal<>Moderate: 12 Essence
Moderate<> Open: 30 Essence
Open<>Plane Merge: 60 Essence.
Most universes can maintain 16 Planes. A god cannot usually Act on the planes save for the Material Plane (Reality).
A plane may detach itself from Reality if the planeholder (the owner of the plane) should desire it and cannot be prevented from doing so, if it has no influence over reality for a significant amount of time (E.g.
In Summary:
>Planes connect to the Material Plane
>Too many planes are bad for stability
>Planes have 5 levels of Connection with varying effects
>Plane connection can be changed by Essence investment
>There is usually space for 16 Planes.
>A god cannot Act on a plane except in the area immediately around a Vault on the plane.
Entities that are fueled by Essence, they are nominally charged with controlling the material plane. Gods have Stats.
Essence: A god's being. This is used to create, destroy, and modify Creation.
Pacts: used to draw Essence from planes/entities. A god can only make so many pacts. Some pacts are easier to make than others. These allow a god to use Essence without draining their Essence. Pacts allow gods to draw Essence from other beings and planes. Essence derived from Pacts do not carry over between turns. E.g. A god drawing 5E of Essence from the Plane of Ice does not add 5E to their Essence pool if they do not use that Essence on that turn. It can only be used on the turn it was drawn, which is an automatic action. Pacts can only be used for actions relating to the Spheres of the Plane. E.g. A Plane of Fire with the spheres Renewal, Elemental Fire, and Industry can only supply Essence for actions relating to those ideals.
Spheres: Innate qualities of the deity, Spheres allow a god to convert Essence into actual change upon the world. While Spheres are not difficult to acquire, it is difficult for a god to maintain hold of many. Most gods have a natural limit that only with great difficulty, can they surpass. Should a god perform too many Actions considered unrelated to their Spheres, they will find themselves feeling quite sick, as if their own being was splitting apart. While gods may start with spheres that nominally represent them, spheres are inherently perceptions of the god as viewed by others. Failing to adhere to one's spheres may see those spheres lost while embodying another sphere might see it gained. Spheres do not stop a god from performing actions that do not draw from their essence.
Vaults
Home Sweet Home.
A god, as powerful as they may seem, ultimately require rest like lesser beings. A Vault is where a god rests. At the end of every turn, most gods will require a bit of R&R to maintain their godly forms and recharge their stores of Essence. They do this in a Vault. In between turns, gods return to ther vaults absorbing ambient Essence. Essence recharge has a flat regen of 2E/turn but this may be increased [or even decreased] by various methods. At the start of the Age of the Gods, none yet exist.
A Vault usually does not allow anyone besides its resident god to enter, although the god may elect to allow others to enter. Note however that entry restrictions can only be changed during turns, not between.
A Vault may be situated anywhere on the Material Plane or even other planes, which may/may not confer different effects to the god. In general, a Vault absorbs radiant energy from the surrounding plane, which may change the god itself. After establishing a Vault, it can be taxing to relocate it. A god may only have 1 Vault. Gods that do not have Vault, or elect to stay Awake may experience Problems. A god that never sleeps does not stop dreaming.
In Summary:
>A Vault is where gods rest at the end of every turn.
>Essence recharges at a flat 2E/turn which may change on other factors.
>A Vault is usually restricted to the resident god, but this can be changed during the turn.
>A Vault may be situated anywhere on the Material Plane or other planes.
>Gods may only have 1 Vault which can be relocated.
>Staying Awake between turns can cause difficulties.
Permanent Death
Destroying a god's Vault, while the god itself is still reforming within the Vault after suffering a physical death, will permanently kill the god. This is far easier said than done.
Sometimes, a god may decide to fight another god not on an intellectual or emotional level, but by stabbing them with the pointy end until they don't get up. This doesn't actually kill the victim, as they simply rematerialise in their Vault and slowly rebuild their corporeal being. This time is dependent on their Essence income. As such, a god that only has an income of 2E will take longer to rematerialise than a god with 10E/turn.
In physical combat, gods are actually quite evenly-matched and indeed, often end in stalemates. A duel between gods is determined via a SHADOW GAME Duel of Dragons which interestingly enough, is represented through a card game.
A DoD is comprised of 3 rounds, each with a 5-turn limit. A god must win 2/3 rounds to claim victory. If no victor is apparent at the end of a round, it is considered a draw. If there are two draws in a Dod, or 1 Draw and 1 Victory for god A and 1 Victory for god B, the DoD results in a Draw. If both gods simultaneously defeat each other in a round, it is considered a draw. If both gods simultaneously defeat each other twice, both gods physically die.
Each god in the fight has 10 HP.
At the start of the Duel, they draw 6 cards from the Deck of Dragons. Cards are played in any order in any amount. At the end of the turn, all cards activate simultaneously.
A card is drawn at the start of each turn. Each Deck of Dragons is made up of 25 Cards. At game start, ALL Decks are identical. They are comprised of:
x10 Attack [1HP Damage to target]
x2 Berserk [3HP Damage to target, -1HP to you]
x10 Defend[[Blocks 1HP Damage to yourself]
x2 Recover [Adds 2 HP to designated target]
x1 Dragon [Roll 1d2. 1=-5HP to you. 2=-5HP to target.]
Essence can be used to generate *more* cards for a specific round, but these are only usable for that specific round. In general 1E=1 basic card [E.g. Attack/Defend], 2E= uncommon card [E.g. Berserk/Recover], 3E= rare card [E.g. Dragon]. This doesn't guarantee that they'll end up in your hand, but does put them in your Deck. Outright putting them in your hand requires more Essence.
PM me your actions, or otherwise post in IC if you're cocky.
Ongoing combat between gods will cause Degradation of the environment in which they fight.
Gods may receive new cards in their deck by declaring Artifacts/Champions/Things in their Duel.
]
Note that increasing the amount of essence floating around in the world may increase costs.
Artifacts: Objects of power, tend to be able perform a few functions designated by their creator. Artifacts can be empowered by the addition of Essence. E.g. adding an extra 1E to a 2E artifact will make it better in a manner stated by the imbuing god.
0E: Mundane artifact. Something that's theoretically available in the world.
1E: Anomalous [e.g. A staff that allows one to psionically lift a 5^3 of dirt.]
6E: Magical [e.g. A staff allowing one to control earth in a nearby area.]
12 E (2- Upkeep): Heroic [e.g. A staff that allows one to create small amounts of earth from ambient aether]
16 E (4- Upkeep):Titanic [e.g. A staff that allows someone to turn earth into life.]
30 E (6- Upkeep): Godly [e.g. A staff that allows one to shift hills, create mountain-sized golems, or force a volcano to form.]
Each Artifact above Magical tier has a permanent Essence upkeep cost on the god. Being unable to pay the upkeep deactivates the artifact. The artifact may reactivate once the upkeep is repaid. A god may at anytime destroy the artifact if they are in physical contact with it. This refunds half of the Essence cost, but not the upkeep.
Artifacts have range tiers. Each tier has an associated upkeep cost that is constant regardless of the Artifact's tier.
Personal: 0E Upkeep [works only on the bearer]
Local: 1E Upkeep [works on the local area]
Regional: 2E Upkeep [works on the local region]
Continental: 4E Upkeep [works on the local continent]
Global: 6E Upkeep [works on the whole world]
Life: Mundane or Non-mundane lifeforms. Have weak souls that prevent them from being sapient.
1E: A species of relatively mundane life. Microbes and the like are *free* unless they have *interesting* abilities/effects.
2E: A species of not-mundane life.
6 E: Creating a functioning ecosystem.
9 E: Creating an inherently fantastical functioning ecosystem.
12 E: Creating a continent-spanning ecosystem.
15E: Creating a continent-spanning fantastical functioning ecosystem.
Mortals
Life with viable souls. Not necessarily sapient.
2E: Creating a relatively mundane species
4E: Creating a not-so mundane species
2+E: Uplifting an existing species [dependent on how abundant said species is]
Champions
Agents of the gods, champions represent the interests of their patron. A Champion has a minimum cost of 1E. As much E can be added as desired. However, should a certain amount be reached, the god must pay a flat amount to improve their tier. Champions aren't necessarily loyal to their creator/patron.
Minimum cost: 1E. A 1E champion can be someone who is just immortal, just abnormally strong, or just generally as a voice in their head that tells them to do things.
Tier 1 [6E]: Pay 4E
Tier 2 [15E]: Pay 12E
Tier 3 [30E]: Pay 30E
Tier 4 [50E]: Pay 75E
Servants
Living/Semi-living tools that are utterly obedient to their gods, Servants have little to no capacity for independent thought and must be distinctly told what to by their owners. Note that a Servant may be made up many individuals so a Major Servant may represent a large amount of Minor Servants.
Minor Servant: 3E
Major Servant: 10E
Colossal Servant: 20E
Entrusted Servant: 40E
Mouthpiece: 60E
Intervention:
Classic miracles/curses and stuff like natural disasters.
Localised: 0 [in a small area]
Minor: 1E
Major: 3E
Great: 12E
Colossal: 20E
Apocalyptic: 50E
Terraforming
Sites/Locales: Specific locations plopped into creation by the gods. Sites are normally free. Sites that confer non-mundane bonuses are Not Free and cost between 1-10E depending on what they do.
Regions: Larger areas than sites, these represent whole mountain ranges, deserts, abyssal trenches, ridges, and the like. Have a flat cost of 2E and range between 5-25E if non-mundane.
Continents: Continents and continent-like places. Flat cost of 5 E and range between 10-40E if non-mundane.
Global: Creates an Earth-sized world. 60E flat cost. 65-??? for non-mundane bonuses.
Actions
Gods may also elect to directly incarnate and do things with their own two/eight/whatever hands. Usually only able to do minor actions like leading an army, raising a mortal family, being a god-king, etc. Success is decided by die roll.
Character Sheet
Name:
Appearance:
Starting Sphere(s):
Age: Newborn (Born in the universe, gets an amniotic sac worth 20 Essence), Middling (Born Elsewhere, start with 2 spheres)
All gods start with 20E
Name: X’arilyg, Hope’s Mediator
Appearance: A giant congested eyeball tower monument that resembles a ziggurat, where the colossal eye that the ziggurat tower is holding is a purplish Eye with a vacuum-absorbing pupil that absorbs all forms of matter to the centralized area, where the iris is a demonic energy container for the vacuum-portal pupil so that the singularity Eye can contract and retract its size. The ziggurat tower that holds the eye is fleshy and has sporadic thorns that rise from it, the ziggurat is contained by four eyestalks towers that resemble the tentacles for X’arilyg.
Starting Spheres: Mind, Soul
Age: Middling
20E Storage
two quick questions:
So, what do acts do in the context of the game? I see we're supposed to form pacts to get them, or convert them from essence, but i'm not quite sure what exactly they do.
Second, are we gonna be playing on a map? I notice you didn't include one in the OP
always happy to playtest new systems, i'll be back later to make a god.
Whoops. All mentions of Acts should be replaced with Essence.
Map? You don't need a map! They just help visualise things. Map may be made depending on how busy/not busy I am.
Litty, So, i'm guessing pacts are used to increase essence income?
Name: Richard Nixon
Appearance: Despite what their unfortunate name would suggest, Dick appears to both god and mortal as a shifting polygonal shape. When calm, the shapes change slowly, almost psychedelically entrancing in their slow transformations. When angered or stressed, the shapes change at a distressingly rapid pace; surely not unsettling the ineffable essence beings known as gods, but probably quite terrifying for mortals.
(for reference, about like this (https://i.giphy.com/media/dNWUv5XMJTFkI/giphy.webp) while calm, much more disorienting otherwise)
Starting Sphere(s): Ambition
Age: Newborn
Portfolio: 20E
Name: Bal-Magoth
Appearance: Tall humanoid shape wreathed in ever-emanating smoke. In his head are visible two smouldering eyes ever fixed in a vicious, displeased snarl. The figure gains clarity and definition as he becomes imbued with more power, smoke giving way to red glowing body criss-crossed with volcaninc veins and fissures.
Starting Sphere(s): Fire, Domination
Age:Middling (Born Elsewhere, start with 2 spheres)
Start with 20E
Name: Phendei
Appearance: A large serpent with shining white scales and sapphire eyes.
Starting Sphere: Health
Age: Newborn (Born in the universe, gets an amniotic sac worth 20 Essence)
Start with 20(+20)E
Name: Korluc
Appearance: A Tall faceless man with a halo of eyes floating around his head.
Starting Sphere(s): Chaos, Creation
Age: Middling (Born Elsewhere, start with 2 spheres)
All gods start with 20E
Name: Culrok
Appearance: a short faceless women with maws floating around her head.
Starting Sphere(s): destruction, order
Age: Middling
All gods start with 20E
Name: Prince Sullun
Appearance: A masked, crowned, and richly dressed four-armed humanoid mounted on a completely cloth-covered horse. He wields a lightning bolt and an excessively sealed scroll in his two free hands.
Starting Sphere(s): Hierarchy
Age: Newborn
All gods start with 2E
Name: Mengeshen
Appearance: A large, muscular man with webbed hands and feet. His eyes crackle with energy. He is bald, but has impressive facial hair.
Starting Sphere(s): Ocean, Lightning
Age: Middling (Born Elsewhere, start with 2 spheres)
All gods start with 20E