Post by flayedchicken123 on Apr 14, 2020 3:39:29 GMT
This is the OOC Thread for the Spark of Creation God Game, wherein deities of varying power and morality do as they will and reap the consequences. Here, I'll list the rules and answer any questions you might have, and you can discuss whatever you want to whether it's related to the game or not, though guro/scat and so on probably belong on Misc.
The Rules of The Game
[l] The GM Will Remain Unbiased At All Times
[II] Excessive Amounts of Faggotry Are Frowned Upon
[III] With the Exception of the Above, Anything Goes
[l] The GM Will Remain Unbiased At All Times
[II] Excessive Amounts of Faggotry Are Frowned Upon
[III] With the Exception of the Above, Anything Goes
The Mechanics of The Game
You play as a God, each God is defined by two things, their Essence and their Domains. Essence is the leftover energy from the Spark of Creation that makes up a God's being and is the source of their power. Essence is gained every turn and used to perform Godly actions, such as sundering a continent, forging a divine artifact, spawning a race of monsters, forming a dimension isolated from the rest of reality, and any similarly grand acts. Minor actions, such as blessing a mortal, smiting a village, or conjuring a sack of mundane gold are so far beneath a God's notice that they are free for the purpose of Essence expenditure. Essence is quantified by a count of (X/Y+Z), where X is the God's current Essence total, Y is their Essence cap, and Z is their Essence income.
Essence can be spent or hoarded. To give an example of how much Essence can do, if a God of Fire were enraged at a mortal civilization, (1) Essence could reduce a small city to a crater, (2) Essence could scour a region's wilderness, (5) Essence could incinerate a massive capital, and (10) Essence could render the plant-life on a continent ash. There is no downside to spending Essence except that it renders the God more vulnerable to backlash from their peers and potentially extremely powerful monsters, demigods, or legendary mortal heroes, and Essence that has been hasn't been hoarded for that turn. If Essence is hoarded to the limit of the Essence cap it does nothing but every Essence income above their cap has a one-in-five chance to raise their limit and a four-in-five chance to be lost as the God can't contain it. For example, if the God of Fire has (10/10+8) Essence, there is a (1/5) chance for each of the (8) Essence to raise it from (10/10) to (11/11), (12/12), and so on.
Each God has a piece or pieces of Creation they claim dominion over and embody. These are Domains and serve three purposes, to provide a 50% discount to Essence spent on actions directly related to the Domain's focus, to allow a small, steady income of Essence dependent on how much influence the Domain has on Creation, and to allow a (+1) bonus when directly attempting actions related to the Domain. For example, if a God wanted to encourage the mortal races of the world to wage a bloody war, assuming there were no other Gods contesting their efforts, something of that scale would cost (20) Essence to manage but if it were a God of War, they could get away with only (10) Essence. Likewise, if the mortal races of the world are engaged in a bloody war that showed no signs of stopping soon, the God of War could enjoy as much as a (+5) boost to their Essence income, more if the war was apocalyptic in scale or the slaughter was more brutal than mortal means alone could manage. If the aforementioned God of Fire decided to intervene and the two fought, the God of War would enjoy a (+1) boost in the roll to determine the victor, though if the God of Fire's attack was oriented around the same element, they could enjoy the same advantage.
Essence is gained from three major sources, the Echo of Creation, the Godly Artifacts they possess, and the Holy Sites they claim, and two minor sources, the Influence of their Domains and the extent of their mortal Devotion. The Echo of Creation is the leftover Essence from the Spark of Creation and is a massive wellspring at the beginning, but slowly declines to a trickle. Godly Artifacts are items imbued with Essence to fulfill a specific purpose, either to assist in combat, supplement Essence income by tapping into the resonance Creation's aftermath, or deepen a God's connection to their Domains to improve the potency of spent Essence. Forging a Godly Artifact always requires Essence, and provides a benefit equivalent to a tenth of the Essence that was poured into its creation per turn. For example, if a God of the Earth poured 20 Essence into crafting a scepter with a metaphysical connection to the world's heart, it would provide (+2) Essence income from then on, a (+2) bonus during combat from a weapon, or an effective (+2) to the Essence of actions performed when wielding it. Godly Artifacts can be stolen but only through significant subterfuge or force, and destroyed, but only by half of the Essence total that went into their creation.
A God can declare a Holy Site by spending Essence on a location of their choosing, whether a city, temple, natural location, or something else entirely, to consecrate it, the Holy Site then generates one-fifth of the Essence that went into its creation in income per turn. For example, if a God of Greed declared the world's grandest vault to be a Holy Site and spent (20) Essence to consecrate it, they would receive (+4) to their Essence income per turn. Because of this, Holy Sites are more efficient at earning income than Godly Artifacts but, barring the expenditure of effort and Essence to fortify it, can be desecrated by a God willing to spend one-fourth of the Essence that went into its consecration to do so, they then receive one-tenth of the Essence income for a duration of turns equal to half of the Holy Site's existence. Once a Holy Site is declared, this can be rescinded at will with no cost or refund to the God that created it, but this does render other Gods unable to desecrate the Holy Site.
The income of the minor sources, Domain Influence and mortal Devotion varies from turn to turn, depending on how prevalent the God's Domains are in Creation and not only how many, but how deeply mortals follow the God, either by membership in their religion or simply aspiring to their ideals for Gods less inclined to be worshiped. If they are deeply attuned to a Domain and/or accessible to mortals, it can and will supplement the God's Essence income, potentially turning a slight, unreliable boost into a massive, stable source of power. If a God's Domain is minor and relegated to a specific, small part of reality, it confers (+1) Essence income, if it is a significant part of reality, it confers (+2) Essence income, and if it's a massive, fundamental or unavoidable part of existence, it confers (+3) Essence income. If a mortal population's Devotion to a God is mild but genuine, it confers (+0.1) Essence income, if a mortal population's Devotion is legitimately devout, it confers (+0.2) Essence income, and if a mortal population's devotion to a God is deeply pious, it confers (+0.3) Essence income. If a mortal population is unflinchingly fanatical and their every breath is praise, it confers (+0.5) Essence income but maintaining that level of Devotion requires diligent effort and/or theocratic/direct rule.
Other sources of Essence income may exist but are unknown in the immediate aftermath of the Spark. If two Gods decide to attempt actions opposed to one another, their Essence investments are measured against each other. This does not mean the highest Essence total wins automatically, it means that two dice corresponding to the God's Essence totals are rolled and the God that receives the highest result is successful. For example, if a God of Fire and a God of Water deeply hate a city dedicated to the God of Earth so much they compete to destroy it before the other can, with the former spending (10) Essence and the latter spending (8) Essence, two dice would be rolled, a 1d10 for the God of Fire and a 1d8 for the God of Water, and the highest of the two would be successful. If the God of Fire rolled a 4 to the God of Water's 7, the fires from above would be extinguished as the city was flooded. However, if the God of Fire wielded a (30) Essence Godly Artifact of attunement to Fire and matched the God of Water with a (+3) bonus, the result would then be determined by a 1d2 or if the God of Water rolled a 6, go to the God of Fire despite the God of Water's higher roll. In the event that it is nearly-impossible for a God's Essence total to oppose another's action, they may choose to let it happen, spend their Essence to mitigate the result, or try despite the low odds of success at their discretion. If there are more than two Gods involved, the same rules apply, albeit with more dice.
Combat between two Gods works similarly, with each contributing a sum of Essence with the goal of defeating their opponent, an opposed roll to see which God gets the better of the other, and a 1d2 or other appropriate dice in the event of a tie. Unlike opposed actions, however, in combat the winner doesn't lose the entirety of their Essence, only half, while the loser not only loses all of their Essence spent, but takes additional damage equal to the half of the winner's Essence that was lost during the fight. If the loser retains some Essence, they can choose to fight or flee, if the former, the process repeats, if the latter, they may escape or if the winner decides to pursue, be forced to roll a dice equal to their remaining Essence total against the winner's, and if successful, get away, but if not, confer the pursuer a (+2) bonus to the ensuing combat. If a God is reduced to (0/Y+Z) Essence, they are made vulnerable and can no longer contest their opponent, if a God is reduced to a negative Essence total, they are rendered comatose and must recover within no more than three turns or fade from Creation. When a God is defeated, the victor may choose to imprison them and siphon one-fourth of their income as their own while barring them to indirect actions until their opponent gains enough to challenge them or escape, or commit deicide for a guarantee to rise their Essence cap by (5) no matter the defeated's power, a one-in-two chance for each of the God's Essence cap above (5), a one-in-three for each above (10), and so on, and the opportunity to seize a single Domain of their choice and/or spend (10) Essence to gain a random Domain, as many times as they have the Essence to do so. They may also choose to let the defeated live otherwise unharmed at their discretion.
If a God desires, they may create a Monster or Servitor, or a host of lesser Servitors strong enough to count as one. Monsters are approximately one-fourth as strong as the Essence spent on them but their power remains static unless a further investment is made. Servitors are only one-fifth but compensate for this with absolute loyalty, whereas Monsters will do as they will, which varies tremendously depending on what they were made for, their intelligence, and the form their physical existence takes. Monsters can be coerced into following the dictates of the God that created them with a sufficient threat, but are generally loathe to obey orders from a higher power unless there's something in it for them. Servitors are ecstatic to obey the every whim of the God that made them and need no promise of reward save the satisfaction of fulfilling their purpose. The creation of Monsters may seem counter-intuitive, but they are one of the easiest ways to add to the influence of a Domain, which will improve the Essence income of Gods possessing that Domain without directly counting toward the (1-3) threshold, as it is associated with the Monster, not the God. Servitors don't directly contribute to Essence income in the same way but they cost no more Essence than went into them when they were created and can be assigned to fulfill specific tasks that a God would rather not get involved with or spend the Essence on, such as proselytizing to the mortal multitudes.
At the beginning of the game, when Creation has taken shape, each God starts with a total of (20/10+5) Essence that they can choose to hoard and grow in anticipation of the future, or spend to establish their long-lasting influence or twist the world to their liking. Gods may interact with mortals by visiting them in the form of an avatar, either blatantly divine or cunningly disguised as something else, or listening and to answering their prayers. Usually these are petty and easily solved trivialities but occasionally a mortal may have exceptionally ambitious or controversial desires. The bridge of Demigods and Inter-God relations will be crossed when it is reached or someone has a good idea.
Essence can be spent or hoarded. To give an example of how much Essence can do, if a God of Fire were enraged at a mortal civilization, (1) Essence could reduce a small city to a crater, (2) Essence could scour a region's wilderness, (5) Essence could incinerate a massive capital, and (10) Essence could render the plant-life on a continent ash. There is no downside to spending Essence except that it renders the God more vulnerable to backlash from their peers and potentially extremely powerful monsters, demigods, or legendary mortal heroes, and Essence that has been hasn't been hoarded for that turn. If Essence is hoarded to the limit of the Essence cap it does nothing but every Essence income above their cap has a one-in-five chance to raise their limit and a four-in-five chance to be lost as the God can't contain it. For example, if the God of Fire has (10/10+8) Essence, there is a (1/5) chance for each of the (8) Essence to raise it from (10/10) to (11/11), (12/12), and so on.
Each God has a piece or pieces of Creation they claim dominion over and embody. These are Domains and serve three purposes, to provide a 50% discount to Essence spent on actions directly related to the Domain's focus, to allow a small, steady income of Essence dependent on how much influence the Domain has on Creation, and to allow a (+1) bonus when directly attempting actions related to the Domain. For example, if a God wanted to encourage the mortal races of the world to wage a bloody war, assuming there were no other Gods contesting their efforts, something of that scale would cost (20) Essence to manage but if it were a God of War, they could get away with only (10) Essence. Likewise, if the mortal races of the world are engaged in a bloody war that showed no signs of stopping soon, the God of War could enjoy as much as a (+5) boost to their Essence income, more if the war was apocalyptic in scale or the slaughter was more brutal than mortal means alone could manage. If the aforementioned God of Fire decided to intervene and the two fought, the God of War would enjoy a (+1) boost in the roll to determine the victor, though if the God of Fire's attack was oriented around the same element, they could enjoy the same advantage.
Essence is gained from three major sources, the Echo of Creation, the Godly Artifacts they possess, and the Holy Sites they claim, and two minor sources, the Influence of their Domains and the extent of their mortal Devotion. The Echo of Creation is the leftover Essence from the Spark of Creation and is a massive wellspring at the beginning, but slowly declines to a trickle. Godly Artifacts are items imbued with Essence to fulfill a specific purpose, either to assist in combat, supplement Essence income by tapping into the resonance Creation's aftermath, or deepen a God's connection to their Domains to improve the potency of spent Essence. Forging a Godly Artifact always requires Essence, and provides a benefit equivalent to a tenth of the Essence that was poured into its creation per turn. For example, if a God of the Earth poured 20 Essence into crafting a scepter with a metaphysical connection to the world's heart, it would provide (+2) Essence income from then on, a (+2) bonus during combat from a weapon, or an effective (+2) to the Essence of actions performed when wielding it. Godly Artifacts can be stolen but only through significant subterfuge or force, and destroyed, but only by half of the Essence total that went into their creation.
A God can declare a Holy Site by spending Essence on a location of their choosing, whether a city, temple, natural location, or something else entirely, to consecrate it, the Holy Site then generates one-fifth of the Essence that went into its creation in income per turn. For example, if a God of Greed declared the world's grandest vault to be a Holy Site and spent (20) Essence to consecrate it, they would receive (+4) to their Essence income per turn. Because of this, Holy Sites are more efficient at earning income than Godly Artifacts but, barring the expenditure of effort and Essence to fortify it, can be desecrated by a God willing to spend one-fourth of the Essence that went into its consecration to do so, they then receive one-tenth of the Essence income for a duration of turns equal to half of the Holy Site's existence. Once a Holy Site is declared, this can be rescinded at will with no cost or refund to the God that created it, but this does render other Gods unable to desecrate the Holy Site.
The income of the minor sources, Domain Influence and mortal Devotion varies from turn to turn, depending on how prevalent the God's Domains are in Creation and not only how many, but how deeply mortals follow the God, either by membership in their religion or simply aspiring to their ideals for Gods less inclined to be worshiped. If they are deeply attuned to a Domain and/or accessible to mortals, it can and will supplement the God's Essence income, potentially turning a slight, unreliable boost into a massive, stable source of power. If a God's Domain is minor and relegated to a specific, small part of reality, it confers (+1) Essence income, if it is a significant part of reality, it confers (+2) Essence income, and if it's a massive, fundamental or unavoidable part of existence, it confers (+3) Essence income. If a mortal population's Devotion to a God is mild but genuine, it confers (+0.1) Essence income, if a mortal population's Devotion is legitimately devout, it confers (+0.2) Essence income, and if a mortal population's devotion to a God is deeply pious, it confers (+0.3) Essence income. If a mortal population is unflinchingly fanatical and their every breath is praise, it confers (+0.5) Essence income but maintaining that level of Devotion requires diligent effort and/or theocratic/direct rule.
Other sources of Essence income may exist but are unknown in the immediate aftermath of the Spark. If two Gods decide to attempt actions opposed to one another, their Essence investments are measured against each other. This does not mean the highest Essence total wins automatically, it means that two dice corresponding to the God's Essence totals are rolled and the God that receives the highest result is successful. For example, if a God of Fire and a God of Water deeply hate a city dedicated to the God of Earth so much they compete to destroy it before the other can, with the former spending (10) Essence and the latter spending (8) Essence, two dice would be rolled, a 1d10 for the God of Fire and a 1d8 for the God of Water, and the highest of the two would be successful. If the God of Fire rolled a 4 to the God of Water's 7, the fires from above would be extinguished as the city was flooded. However, if the God of Fire wielded a (30) Essence Godly Artifact of attunement to Fire and matched the God of Water with a (+3) bonus, the result would then be determined by a 1d2 or if the God of Water rolled a 6, go to the God of Fire despite the God of Water's higher roll. In the event that it is nearly-impossible for a God's Essence total to oppose another's action, they may choose to let it happen, spend their Essence to mitigate the result, or try despite the low odds of success at their discretion. If there are more than two Gods involved, the same rules apply, albeit with more dice.
Combat between two Gods works similarly, with each contributing a sum of Essence with the goal of defeating their opponent, an opposed roll to see which God gets the better of the other, and a 1d2 or other appropriate dice in the event of a tie. Unlike opposed actions, however, in combat the winner doesn't lose the entirety of their Essence, only half, while the loser not only loses all of their Essence spent, but takes additional damage equal to the half of the winner's Essence that was lost during the fight. If the loser retains some Essence, they can choose to fight or flee, if the former, the process repeats, if the latter, they may escape or if the winner decides to pursue, be forced to roll a dice equal to their remaining Essence total against the winner's, and if successful, get away, but if not, confer the pursuer a (+2) bonus to the ensuing combat. If a God is reduced to (0/Y+Z) Essence, they are made vulnerable and can no longer contest their opponent, if a God is reduced to a negative Essence total, they are rendered comatose and must recover within no more than three turns or fade from Creation. When a God is defeated, the victor may choose to imprison them and siphon one-fourth of their income as their own while barring them to indirect actions until their opponent gains enough to challenge them or escape, or commit deicide for a guarantee to rise their Essence cap by (5) no matter the defeated's power, a one-in-two chance for each of the God's Essence cap above (5), a one-in-three for each above (10), and so on, and the opportunity to seize a single Domain of their choice and/or spend (10) Essence to gain a random Domain, as many times as they have the Essence to do so. They may also choose to let the defeated live otherwise unharmed at their discretion.
If a God desires, they may create a Monster or Servitor, or a host of lesser Servitors strong enough to count as one. Monsters are approximately one-fourth as strong as the Essence spent on them but their power remains static unless a further investment is made. Servitors are only one-fifth but compensate for this with absolute loyalty, whereas Monsters will do as they will, which varies tremendously depending on what they were made for, their intelligence, and the form their physical existence takes. Monsters can be coerced into following the dictates of the God that created them with a sufficient threat, but are generally loathe to obey orders from a higher power unless there's something in it for them. Servitors are ecstatic to obey the every whim of the God that made them and need no promise of reward save the satisfaction of fulfilling their purpose. The creation of Monsters may seem counter-intuitive, but they are one of the easiest ways to add to the influence of a Domain, which will improve the Essence income of Gods possessing that Domain without directly counting toward the (1-3) threshold, as it is associated with the Monster, not the God. Servitors don't directly contribute to Essence income in the same way but they cost no more Essence than went into them when they were created and can be assigned to fulfill specific tasks that a God would rather not get involved with or spend the Essence on, such as proselytizing to the mortal multitudes.
At the beginning of the game, when Creation has taken shape, each God starts with a total of (20/10+5) Essence that they can choose to hoard and grow in anticipation of the future, or spend to establish their long-lasting influence or twist the world to their liking. Gods may interact with mortals by visiting them in the form of an avatar, either blatantly divine or cunningly disguised as something else, or listening and to answering their prayers. Usually these are petty and easily solved trivialities but occasionally a mortal may have exceptionally ambitious or controversial desires. The bridge of Demigods and Inter-God relations will be crossed when it is reached or someone has a good idea.
These mechanics are only the starting point, written out so we can reference and analyse them before the game begins, most likely one day from now when more players have had a chance to post. When posting in the IC thread, post the actions and their mechanics in Bold and the flavor-text in Italics or Plain, as you prefer. Don't assume you need to write walls of text, a single sentence of fluff is more than enough. Secret actions are not only acceptable, they are encouraged, though the Essence totals of each God are publicly available and concealing expenditure/additional income takes Essence to do. Let me know what you think of the system, the rules are set in stone but I can and will change the mechanics if someone has a better idea for how to do something or most of you would prefer a change.
