IC Thread Here:
http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=176885.0
The Land of Herat is locked into the cycle eternal, the kalpic renewal. Aeons of growth, stability, rot and then death, only to continue once more over and over again. To live eternally through infinite life cycles is a curse, for the soul is hollowed, its foundations foul and wilted. Only by exiting the cycle of rebirth can peace be attained.
As a Great One, you are tasked with ascension, with breaking the cycle of the imprisoned souls. However, be warned; for you too are cursed with the cycle of life and death, your memories and being disappearing with each life, your own soul rotting in time.
Attain the worship of the imprisoned and free the souls of those worthies and surely, your soul will be reinvigorated once more.
...Beware of one's actions however, as reincarnation is overseen by the balances of karma. One's acts determine one's rebirth and one is thusly indebted to their former self.
(The GM warns that new and potentially complicated and annoying mechanics will be introduced and removed for various reasons ranging from the narrative to the arbitrary)
Great Ones such as yourself conduct acts from either the perspective of your heavenly visage or as a deliberate earthly reincarnation. At the start of a turn, the Great One declares whether one will perform Celestial or Cthonic Acts.
Celestial Acts are performed from your seat in the Heavens. They are grandiose and powerful, but lack fidelity or specificity.
Cthonic Acts require that the Great One incarnates for the turn as an earthly being called an Avatar. They are somewhat more limited in their ability, requiring time to remember that they are a Great One. However, they are able to carry out more specific actions. Avatars may only be living organisms. At the end of the turn, the Avatar is presumed to have died, returning the Great One to their heavenly seat.
Regardless of which the Great One chooses, a Great One usually acts by selecting which hex they are acting on. For Celestial Acts, this will be the epicentre of their Act. Actions may also be declared without Hex when it nominally makes sense. E.g. travelling the land as a teacher.
Actions that resonate with a Great One's Core tend to be more effective.
A Great One can only personally kill another Great One if both happen to be on the same plane.
Celestial Actions
Each Great One has 5 Acts. These at the minimum affect 1 hex and the hexes around it, to a maximum of 3 hexes around the epicentre of the Act. Celestial Actions are the acts of Gods. These include great floods, the enchantment of lands, the rising of mountains, the creation of ecosystems or the raising of species. The GM reserves the right to forbid some actions at any time.
Celestial Actions cannot target specific people or objects.
Cthonic Actions
Each Great One has 3 Acts. These include lesser versions of Celestial Actions, such as localised flooding or earthquakes. These can only affect one hex at most. However, one can also engage in the founding of nations, intrigues, the creation of artifacts or establishments of places of power. Avatars may die early if conducting risky actions or otherwise hampered by threats. In such a case, they are booted back to the Heavens and are unable to act for the rest of the turn. The GM reserves the right to forbid some actions at any time.
Great Ones, like all beings, die. Every 3 turns, the Great Ones die and reincarnate as new deities. Their actions in life, and their previous lives, weigh upon them and affect the power and affinities of their new state. Reincarnation also restores 5 Celestial Acts and 3 Cthonic Acts to the Great One.
In general, positive karma is attained by communal work, abiding by the law, upholding the social/divine order, being polite, forgiving those who have wrong you, and refraining from violence. Reincarnating whilst having positive karma aligns one one with the Heavens.
In general, negative karma is attained by acting for your own benefit, breaking the law, revolting against the social/divine order, being rude, holding a grudge, and committing violence (or otherwise benefiting from violence). Reincarnating whilst having negative karma aligns one with the Hells.
Reincarnating whilst having neutral karma is considered to be most fortunate and grants one the best of gifts.
The Universe itself dies every 12 or so turns and will be reborn anew with aspects of the old.
As a Great One, your nominal goal is to free people of the eternal cycle of death and birth. How you do that is up to you, but doing so will result in the gaining of Ascension Points. These can be used for various rewards offered by Helpers or other sources.
Under the Dharma of Herat, many actions are considered positive or negative. The severity of each action differs however. There are three pairs of actions that represent opposite ideals. These are almost always constant. Accompanying them are several relative actions with a changing moral value assigned to it. These are represented with an *.
Positive Karma
Stability: to preserve the goodness and law of the social order.
Charity: to give of yourself or your estate.
Pacifism: to refrain from violence.
Politness: to speak with respect and consideration
Obligation: to perform one's duty in the roles they find themselves.
Repression: To suppress one's desires.
Filial Piety*: to respect one's parents and ancestors.
Negative Karma
Turmoil: to uproot the social order and usher change
Greed: to gather to yourself property.
Aggression: to perform violence.
Vulgarity: to speak without refinement.
Grace: to free oneself of their obligations.
Pleasure: to induldge one's desires.
Scholarship*: to induldge in the desire for knowledge
Positive Karma is associated with the Heavens and the Sky. Devas flock to aid those who share the Heavens with them. Beware however, that extremely high levels of positive karma may endear oneself to a more sedentary and inert existence.
Negative Karma is associated with the Hells and the Subterranean. Asuras march to those that know the truths of life. Those who maintain high levels of negative karma however, may find themselves reduced in form in their next life.
In lands between the realms of Creation lie the infinite voids. Within them are bubbles of reality, some of which are the realms of spirits. Amongst these realms are those colonised by the enigmatic race of Helpers, sprites that organise themselves in the form of guild and corporation. Some of these have established active communication links between the liminal lights of the
Discordian Link (Yes, Discord is almost mandatory; sorry!). By speaking with their representatives, one can attain boons and powers in exchange for one thing or another.
HelperCo!Motto: "From the Yawning Mouths to the Pupice of Ark-Bel, we help anyone!"
Description: HelperCo! is one of the largest of these corporate behemoths, offering advisory aid to various godlings and divinities in exchange for [REDACTED]. Recently, they've been branching out to the selling of wares in new markets not currently under interdict or regulation - such as Herat.
Dakas-Fir Engineering
Motto: ""Your soul's worth."
Description: Dakas-Fir Engineering is renowned amongst the realms as a producer of the finest machinery and tools souls can buy and have personally lobbied for the right of sale in virgin realms- such as Herat.
Your Friendly Wayfarer's
Motto: ""Good coming in, good coming out."
Description: Your Friendly Wayfarer's is a relatively new corporation, or rather, co-operation. Its members are skilled veterans of the otherwordly industries who have become jaded with corporate culture and decided to pitch in for an ethical and fair business. They sell their services at a premium - and only to those who act ethically - but they really care about their customers.
Halthier Institute
Motto: "We Don't Have a Budget For A Tagline..."
Description: " The Halthier Institute is a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to the pursuit of science. It doesn't offer products but instead requests the performing of certain actions. In turn, it provides its test subjects with compensation. This the Institute says, is a form of citizen science. They're wrong, but it gets them donations."
How many players will there be? Dunno.
How will they be selected? Dunno.
Great One Sheet
Name: the sound of your True Name engraved upon your soul
Core: the central component of your soul, your quality above all; your prime sphere
Appearance: the form which your divine soul would prefer to wear
Personality: that which forms the fat of your soul
