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[Neonivek]

So I am going to run a Pathfinder game but I need enough written work here in order for people to join. So here is where I am putting all my setting information. Feel free to comment, suggest things, or even write things to add.
-5th level
-No class restrictions
-few race restrictions (ask if you are using a non-standard race)

Game is planned for four hours at 4-11pm (As in it starts at 4, ends at 8... or starts at 7, ends at 11) either Friday, Saturday, or Sunday.

You play a mortal who is not a servant or lacky of any of the factions. In a city that was built by all the factions as a neutral territory.

When I am done more, I'll put up a proper "looking for players" right now though... I don't mind people signing up, but that isn't the purpose of the thread.

-------------

The world of Aduroservum

History before the gods doesn't exist, how could it when history itself was a gift? As far back as anyone can even remember the world was ruled by the dictates of the gods.

The gods protected us from the wolves that howl in the night, they raised our crops from the ground, they gave us culture and music, and through them we prosper. Yet it has been thousands upon thousands of years and perhaps we have grown too old, too wise, for our divine parents.

This is the world of Aduroservum.

In this place the gods themselves take on bodies which are known as Avatars* and rule their people directly. Without the divine protection of the gods people are doomed to fall and as such even well intending freedom fighters must adhere to the whims of their patrons.

*: Gods avatars are usually referred to by the name of the gods themselves. The term people use for the bodies that gods take are “vessels”.

Every city is rules by a patron deity and a handful of minor gods. As well each deity usually has an entourage of demigods and other beings in order to be their hands and ears. These cities usually bare their name.

What do the gods need people for?

Each group of deities desire people for one purpose. Yet only the Celestials and the Destroyers have an actual need. If a deity has no use for morals then they don't manifest, as such the true number of deities in this world is largely unknown.

What do people need the gods for?

Without the mark of a patron you are subject to disease many diseases, your crops fail, and you may freely contract the ire and curses of other gods.

What does the Mark of the gods do?

Specifically it bestows the blessings and divine protection of the gods. As well a god can always locate someone with the mark.

What about alignments?

The gods in this setting do not have the ability to look into one's soul, at least not while they are still alive, and as such have no particular ability to determine someone's alignment. Detect alignment doesn't function as a result.

What are Demigods?

Demigods are the offspring of deities that maintain their divine powers in some way. At most demigods can keep their divine heritage within five generations. How this divine heritage manifests is different, for example giants all used to be demigods.

How powerful are the gods and demigods?

They are indeed powerful but their powers do not directly translate into combative ability. As well every time a god takes on a new avatar it needs to build power again.

-

The Factions of Deities

-The Heroes

If there is one thing that is important among all else in this faction it is family. These are the oldest deities known and came to the land in order to care for and raise the many races of the world like one would children. When the deities learned that through the avatars they could have offspring of their own they were filled with strong maternal instincts.

Their purpose is to raise their divine offspring in order to be the greatest warriors, artisans, and heroes they can be. They tend to dominate their children's lives personally getting involved in their business. The offspring of such children though, are not as favored but tend to be given the right to control the further removed generations and so on creating a heigharchy.

The gods tend to be kind and gregarious. They don't need worship but they enjoy it and as such are prone to throwing large celebrations and showering gifts onto their people. The gods' strong sense of favortism is tempered by the fact that they teach this generosity to their children. Yet their disconnect from the poor means that their cities are usually pristine quarters and palaces surrounded by ill kept houses... a Pint of Ale doesn't do a person well if all they need is a job.

Social structure wise the Heroes form tight family units that serve almost as a guild onto itself. If you want to work in those cities you need to join those guilds or take an undesired job. Families deal with their own families interests and if there is a legal issue then an enforcer usually gets involved, the gods themselves only getting involved in a dire situation. Because the gods are so concerned with their direct offspring it leaves the others with free reign over the people.

Gods of this faction tend to appear as humanoids or giants.

-The Stewards

The Lords and Caretakers of the underworld the Stewards found that in order to fulfill the wishes of the dead in the underworld, perhaps they need to deal with the living first. The Stewards are cold and somewhat alien gods who teach the living to fear and worship the dead. Their mannerisms are always off, their movements stiff, but they speak with absolute authority that no one can deny. Their mere presence causes the dead to rise.

The build grand mausoleums and create ancestor cults in order to fulfill the needs of the dead. The living and dead serving as the work force. Outside of that the gods keep to themselves and leave the people to handle their own affairs but always subject to a head priest. Their societies are traditional using the vast knowledges of the past, in fact they are by far the most potent magically. While their society advances slowly they never lose any bit of knowledge or technology once learned making them a mishmash of advanced and retrograde technology.

It is only by divine hand that the eternal life can be sought, as such they revile necromancy from outside the stewards and seek out and destroy all practitioners.

Gods of this faction tend to appear as undead humanoids who wear a head concealing mask in a visage complimentary to their image.

-The Destroyers

Demons of destruction and rebirth their role in the cosmos is simply to destroy in a never ending anger, but their destruction comes with a purpose for all that is destroyed by their hand is renewed into something more grand then before. Yet they found that the blood and sacrifice of mortals sates their need for destruction and calms them.

Demons, Devils, and the like are their spawn created by their eternal angers. Though they do not share motivations the demons and devils all must answer to the destroyers. A ingrained compulsion that overwrites their desire to dominate or destroy all creation.

The destroyers are by far the most outgoing of the gods preferring to be on display to their people serving as a beacon of their divine rule at all times. Yet are also the most demanding asking for a constant stream of worship, admirers, and the like to serve on them hand and foot. Yet unlike the other deities who simply take the destroyers always give back more then what they take. A simple admirer whose only job is to shower a destroyer with compliments might be wrapped in silk and laden with gold.

Destroyer society is decadent with a strong sense of duty. They always try to find other ways to avoid sacrificing their own people, even abductions or wars, but know that there is no avoiding a sacrifice. Their sacrifices are blessed by being rich without equal, their crops grow without needing to be tended, and dying of disease is unheard of.

Demigods in this society are reincarnations of those who are sacrificed to the deities. They often have faint memories of their previous lives, or even full memory. Yet even more troubling are the Demigod monsters that the destroyers seem to produce.

The destroyers have been getting rather short tempered lately as the sacrifices have had less and less of an effect on them, sometimes going into short rages or even becoming feral monsters themselves. People fear what will happen if the sacrifices suddenly stop having any effect. Others suppose that it is just a natural cycle that the world must be destroyed and made anew to a new paradise.

Gods of this faction tend to appear as either vile demons are inhumanly beautiful divas.

-The Warriors

The bastard children between animals and the God of War the Warriors are nature spirits who use this world as a way to safely engage in their wars without threatening the cosmos. People were but pawns to them but overtime they started to not only enjoy the wargames but their people as well. Now they avoid making any winning moves.

Societies consist of large tribal constructs where comradely is encouraged at all times and betrayal of your brothers in arms is the utmost crime. Losers of a battle or war serve the winners and so on. As such cities are usually an amalgamation of many tribes folded into one. They are a warrior society but they have a fondness and respect for farmers, shepherds, and hunters and will protect them with deadly force.

They are not peaceful nature spirits nor do they believe in preservation preferring a “survival of the fittest” approach. They don't believe in underhanded tactics and take everything required to win as absolutely necessary as long as it doesn't affect those outside the conflict.

The gods see themselves as tacticians and generals leading an army. They have a co-operative mindset when it comes to tackling a problem and view mortals who prove themselves as intellectual equals. They have final say but unlike the other deities they will back off if the tribe sees things another way.

Gods of this faction tend to appear as animals or lycanthrope hybrids.

-The Celestials

When the first beings were created their souls were crafted by mighty god like artisans and given to the fleshy shells down below. As the gods started to create demigods and uplight mortals to deities themselves the leftovers of this process started to gain a divine spark, sentience, and awoken to a world it never known. They found that when mortals revered them that their power grew, that they could transform that worship into objects and new beings, and that they could even take the souls of mortals and use it to their own end. Unlike the other gods the Celestials need mortal worship.

As such Celestial society is very controlled and dogmatic controlled by a central religious authority. Heretics are quickly routed and daily services are mandatory. The Celestials cloak themselves in the trappings of holiness, of goodness, and never drop this guise. They teach that their actions are always for the greater good and their followers are often so brainwashed and deluded as to believe it. Yet perhaps more tellingly the Celestials believe it.

The Celestials in their delusions created the Angels and other good beings in order to be their servants but in the end they rebelled and want nothing to do with them. Though they cannot escape the call of their direct orders, they do everything in their power to avoid it.

Gods of this faction tend to appear as balls of light, eternal flames, clouds of feathers.

[Neonivek]

Welcome to the City of Stetera a major city nestled in neutral territory.

Originally Stetera was a small outpost intended to conduct meetings between the many factions in order to broker trading, diplomacy, and even cultural exchanges, the city soon grew almost over night becoming such a large metropolis that is will soon even rise as the largest most glorious city in all the world.

Because no single faction controls the city the current government and justice system is run by mortals. Though designated “faction areas” do exist and have their own sets of laws. This set up has given rise to the only successful mortal run city. Yet the government is full of corruption as each faction fights for their own interests using bribery and other underhanded tactics in order to get their way. Each faction likes to believe their ways are best, and that the city needs their rule.

As well rebels, heretics, and simple non-conformists have become common place. They see this city as a way to finally break away from the rule of the old gods and finally have their own way of life outside divine dictates. How far they go in their beliefs changes from group to group. The general populous though wants to live their lives and do not care about the squabbling between the gods and mortals so long as it doesn't affect them, but they are becoming increasingly unhappy.

This delicate situation has lead to both god and mortal to start to run subversive campaigns away from prying eyes. Adventurers, Heroes, and Assassins all have been starting to flourish in the town as they are hired to be the secret hand of these factions.

--

Things to come here: More city description

[Neonivek]

reserved

To do:
-List of gods
-Describing the primary setting
-What are the players and what do they do?

[Spiderking50]

This is very similar to a psedu DND world I created for me and my friends. It had "living" gods which formed naturally as spontaneous divine manifestations caused by the residual universal primordial soup underlaying the physical universe combining in just the right way to influence the physical world. They then (depending on the goals of said god) created mortals and monsters as part of an intensely complicated celestial game. Very similar to the dragons Xorvintaal (http://forgottenrealms.wikia.com/wiki/Xorvintaal). Albeit your gods are far more regal in definition and structure. If you want some writing done, to know more about what I wrote my my world, or someone to bounce ideas off of, send me a message.

[andrea]

Theme:

Anti-theist sentiment

Due to its unique place as a neutral ground in the struggles between gods, Stetera has naturally attracted many people without affiliation or loyalty to any of the gods, which laid the foundations for a growing secular sentiment. Some people, however, are not content with the self governance the city is allowed; rather, they wish to drive all the religious factions out of the city to create a nation in which mortals can prosper free of divine rule. Whether this is an achievable project or not remains to be seen but a sizeable group, called 'Mortal Dawn' , is rallying support for this cause. So far they kept to campaigning for political support, asking for a reduced influence of factions in city affairs and for power in government, but more trouble may be brewing, as the power of this new faction grows. influential figures of all factions keep a close eye on them, trying to exploit every opportunity to discredit them.

Faces
Darius Farmer: head and public face of Mortal Dawn. Not much is known of his past, besides his own statements of growing up in a small homestead where, he claims, he learned to grow crops with as much reliability and abundance as those blessed by gods.
The high priests of the factions(heads of local faction hierarchy): While they generally don't believe in a sustainable society without divine blessings and thefefore don't see Mortal Dawn as a global threat, they are deeply concerned about losing local power, both from losing influence in the city and from the risk of being removed by their superiors outside.

[CrimsonEon]

Spoiler: Themes: Itar's Ambition (click to show/hide)

A Demigod's Superiority: Itar's Ambition

Stetera's size has not been lost on many would-be rulers and Demigods. One such Demigod, hailing from the Heroes city of Kov, seeks to set his own foothold in the Stetera and establish himself as a shining example to be followed by all of the city's people, and more importantly, above all other Heroes gods in the region.

Far more aggressive than the other Heroes-affiliated leaders, Itar has made use of both overt and underhanded means to convey himself as a fair-minded and valiant figure to the other factions. Itar concerns himself little with the neutral minded, and specifically focuses his attention on the followers of other gods, especially those of other Heroes gods. Through his campaign of image, he aims to subtly gain the trust of those under other gods, and convert followers away. When word of he and his follower's deeds fail to convince, he relies on his agents to discredit and remove the troublesome and corrupt the monetarily inclined, sometimes at the cost of the city's order.

Faces:

• Itar: The demigod son of Kov. He does not reside in Stetara, but his presence is keenly felt through his agents and connections. Though he projects a noble and affluent sense of self, anyone who has spent more than a week under his orders quickly learns how little he tolerates failure among his own. Condescending and prideful to a fault, Itar allows little dissenting talk among those he watches, though he pays little mind to those of neutral disposition.
• Gautaft: A Human Bard and agent of Itar. Generally the most visible and identifiable of Itar's agents. Detailed below.

Spoiler: Location: Dhr'mar Way (click to show/hide)

Dhr'mar Way: Heroes District
Description: Lying near the edge of Heroes territory, Dhr'mar way is a single large and ornate road cutting through mostly neutral territory. The majority of the road is flanked by almost completely solid rows of stone buildings housing mostly blacksmiths, mercenary companies and other guilds. The Way itself was once of masterwork masonry, bricks flawlessly smoothed out the entire way, vivid banners of various Heroes factions lining the buildings, and many columns of marble spaced out along the road all leading to and emphasizing the main feature of the district, the Trial Grounds. However, over a long amount of time, the road has fallen into disrepair and the surrounding masonry has eroded a fair deal, losing its proud luster. Columns of smoke regularly rise from the less-kept portions of the road, with some shanty towns being erected in front of the building strips at its side.

The Way is a relatively safe portion of the city, if only because of the strength and cooperativeness of the local mercenaries and blacksmiths, with little practical help from the local 'guard' stemming from the Trial Grounds. The Way is surrounded by two large strips of buildings, with only a couple spacious alleyways leading out elsewhere. This gives thieves few exits to make a quick escape, frequently they are successfully chased down by vindictive locals.

In the center of the district, with the Way navigating its perimeter, is the Dhr'mar Trial Grounds. The Trial Grounds consist of a large arena-like enclosure dug into the ground relative to the road, its aesthetic almost like a grand Colosseum, with marble seating looking down onto the arena. Unlike the rest of the road, great pains are taken by the Heroes to maintain the opulence and significance of the Grounds. This is because they are generally seen as a more honorable and dignified arena for settling disputes honorably as opposed to the grittier and less organized arenas dotting the city.

Heroes factions very frequently hold skirmishes on the Grounds, some for mere sparring, others to settle matters of territory and others still for glory. The Grounds are almost never used for combat against monsters, purely warriors versus warriors. The repute of the Grounds also attracts many neutral fighters, and even those of other Gods frequently.

Theme: Itar's Ambition. Itar's agents very regularly involve themselves with the goings-on of the Trial Grounds, ensuring fair play at the surface at least. While Vikhar is the overseer of the grounds, he is only so in name. Itar's agents often secretly manipulate the outcomes when it suits their agenda.
Threat: Lately, there has been a dispute between a local Blacksmith and Mercenary Guild, Corheldan Arms, and one of the Heroes factions, their skirmishes have regularly been fought in the Grounds. However, lately a number of suspect poisonings have been reported, mostly in the section of the Way where the Corheldan Arms has taken residence, that has the local citizenry concerned.
Faces:

• Harldan: A local scholar, blacksmith and current head of Corheldan Arms, generally seen as the face of the civilians in Dhr'mar Way. Foulmouthed but incredibly knowledgeable, actively trying to expose the local poisonings.
• Vikhar: Heroes Paladin and general overseer of the Dhr'mar Trial Grounds. Self appointed protector of Dhr'mar way, but sleazy and incompetent.

Spoiler: People: Gautaft (click to show/hide)

Name: Gautaft
Attached to: Itar's Ambition
Description: A Human Bard and agent of Itar. Endlessly boastful, frustratingly cryptic and supporting an ego practically the size of Stetera itself; Gautaft is frequently seen in various corners of the city working with many factions, even followers of other gods. He often attempts to lend his aid to issues of the city in the name of Itar, for better or worse. Generally the most visible and identifiable of Itar's agents, and to the casual observer, is Itar's mouthpiece to Stetera until such a time the affluent demigod decides to arrive in the city himself.
Motivation: To establish clout in the city on behalf of Itar, and make a name in doing so.
Is attached to:
-Itar (Primary Agent in Stetera)
-Nasir (Childhood friend)
-Vikhar (Rivalry)

Spoiler: People: Harldan (click to show/hide)

Name: Torlamer Harldan
Attached to: Dhr'mar Way
Description: To be filled out
Motivation: To be filled out
Is attached to:

Spoiler: People: Vikhar (click to show/hide)

Name: Vikhar the Staunch
Attached to: Dhr'mar Way
Description: To be filled out
Motivation: To be filled out
Is attached to: