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[Caesar]

Godhood VIII – Quills and Mythology
Out of character thread

Announcements
Summary of Turns

Godhood is a game which aims to combine creative writing and roleplaying, where players take the roles of a pantheon of Gods in a universe comprised of the so-called 'essence' and 'void'. The world in which the game takes place is young, ready to become the focus of the machinations of the Gods, who all pursue their own agendas.

Important Links
Godhood VIII Game Thread
Godhood VIII Wiki, player-run
World Map
PM Caesar

This thread is meant for discussions about the Godhood VIII forum game (both silly and serious), discussing one another's writing, and for comments from anyone with even the slightest interest in the game. It is also where you can make suggestions about the way the game is run or played, post the template of your god if you have been accepted to the game, and discuss my decisions or point out confusions. It is also home to the announcement and 'turn summary' post, which provide quick and useful information.


Old Godhoods
(Which I managed)

Godhood I
Godhood I Game Thread
Godhood I OOC Thread

Godhood III
Godhood III Game Thread
Godhood III OOC Thread

Godhood IV
Godhood IV Game Thread
Godhood IV OOC Thread

Godhood VII – Era of the Phoenix
Godhood VII Game Thread
Godhood VII OOC Thread


Game Rules

General
- I reserve the right to add rules to regulate acts if I believe that it is in the interest of the game.
- I may remove or add players to the game.
- You have the absolute right to criticize me and discuss my decisions and the rules.
- Never worry about unjust treatment in the game because of something you might have said to me out of character. If I would truly personally dislike you for something you said or did, I would remove you from the game and explain why, or discuss the reasons for my dislike with you. As long as you are in the game you will receive the same in-game treatment that anyone does.
- Even if I compliment you for your writing or imagination, do not expect different treatment in the game.
- Never, with ill intent, insult another player. If you do, I will either remove you from the game or demand a public apology. I may also report you to the Toady One.
- Everyone who is involved with the game is required to keep up-to-date with the game. Check the announcements every time you see something written in any thread related to the game, just to be sure that you do not miss anything.

God Character Sheets
- Every player who wishes to join the game fills in a character sheet for a god, conforming to the template provided below the character they will play during the game.
- For a sheet to be processed and added to the game, it must be sent to me by PM.
- The provided sheets should be added to the Godhood VIII Wiki and modified if any changes are made to the sheet.
- When applying for a vacant spot, try to create a god who (you think) would balance the existing pantheon as much as is possible.
- When creating your god keep in mind that the gods of Godhood are neither omniscient nor omnipotent.

Spoiler: God Sheet Template (click to show/hide)

Name: Optional, or mandatory if no title(s)
Title(s): Optional, or mandatory if no name
Sphere(s): The elements, attributes or ideas the god is associated with. The gods are the divine manifestation of their spheres.
Human manifestation: If this god would appear as a human, what would they look like?
Characteristic attributes: For instance, Minerva used to be associated with owls, Aphrodite with apples and doves. You do not necessarily have to pick an animal. Pick anything humans could depict.
Description of the character: What is this god like? What drives them, and how would their personality be described by mortals? Note: Do not describe the standard practices of worship or surrounding mythology. They may be influenced by your God's decree and actions, but at the start of the game, I will provide some basic shape to the cultures, including their methods of worship.

Essence
- At the start of every turn, all gods receive 'essence'. The amount of essence the gods receive is based on..
  - .. the combined strength of their received worship (several fanatic cults could be just as strong as an entire moderately pious population).
  - .. their connection with the outlying universe and the overgod.
  - .. numerous other (secret?) factors.
- The gods can store their essence, up to a total of seven units. For every act a god receives beyond the number of seven they risk minor backfires. (Losing essence, uncontrolled acts.)
- Gods are allowed to have a negative amount of essence, but this carries great risks the further into the negative the god goes. (Failure to act, unintended side-effects, or even death.)
- If you are unsure about the amount of essence your plans might cost, send me a PM, and I will reply with an exact number. I will never inform you of possible repercussions when you go negative.

Acts
Form
- Acts are the divine 'actions' of the gods.
- Almost every act will consume essence. (One exception, for instance, is communication with other gods.)
- When you write an act, you should use whatever font or style you want for the in-character act, but then bold a short statement, like in the following short example.

Spoiler: Example act (click to show/hide)

Uristos, on his knees, kissed the feet of the statue of Dolobus, pleading his god for aid. Dolobus thus appeared to Uristos, his most pious worshipper, and granted him his wish. "Let it be from this day, that no man who is bearded, stout, industrious and small of length, shall have to live a life of sober sin." After these words his god departed back into the nothingness, leaving Dolobus gasping for air as he tried to comprehend what he had just heard: A large glass carafe, masterfully decorated with bands of gold and silver, positioned in the hands of the statue, was all that remained to testify of Dolobus' visit to the temple.

Dolobus grants Uristos Mechidrunkardeo the carafe of plenty, which is unbreakable and will always refill with wine when empty.

(This example is also demonstrates an act that would cost only one point of essence.)

Acts
Content
- Manifesting to mortals is free if it is part of an act for which the god used essence. It is also free to manifest to a select few humans, but not to large crowds. (So no (free) decrees to entire populations. Use   people to spread your word! Manifesting IN a crowd is no problem, as long as you do not directly influence that entire crowd.)
- Do not spend an entire turn solely manifesting to group after group after group of humans. At some point, this will start costing essence.
- Manifesting to notable characters (especially those who are already tied up in divine matters) is free. (As long as the god has an awareness of their location).
- It is forbidden to create new intelligent races.
  - Divine markings or blessings which pass down through descendents are allowed!
  - You may still try to create a new race, but it is guaranteed that the consequences will be severe.
  - Creating intelligent legendary beings is allowed! So feel free to create epic or mythological monsters (even those that reproduce), as long as they do not give me another large civilization to manage.
- If you are clearly overstepping your power I may say 'no' and cancel your act, or produce severe consequences (since you might overshoot into a huge negative amount of acts). If you are unsure about something, discuss it with me first!

Wiki
- The Godhood VIII Wiki will be managed by the players. Within our common goal of having fun with this game, this is your responsibility.
- As soon as something was posted its effects should be posted in the wiki.
- In the rare case that I might decide to negate an act, its results should be removed from the wiki.

Deadlines
- I will set deadlines for posts, updates or other matters within Godhood. Those deadlines are at all times open to debate, although my decision is final. Even if everyone wants me to post three days earlier, I will not give in if I cannot give in. However, if I can post and you (the players) demonstrate a preference to move the deadline, I will most likely oblige. So feel free to suggest it!
- If I violate a deadline, you have the full right to send me a PM and harass me in the OOC thread, once a day. Of course, if there is valid reason to move the deadline, you should seize the harass. This also applies to deadlines for the players.

If you think that the rules are unclear, feel free to ask for clarification!

[Caesar]

Announcements
Last updated: 17/09/2013, 20:01 (+1 GMT)

Original Post
Summary of Turns


This post will regularly be updated with any relevant information. If you are actively participating/generally interested in Godhood, make sure to routinely check this post for any updates.


Turn 1 is scheduled on 29/09/2013.
This might be moved back a week if the turn progresses quickly enough.


Godhood VIII started today (16/09/2013)!
Go ahead and post!

The following (players) gods got into the game:

Spoiler: Gods (click to show/hide)

Code: [Select]

(Atilliano) Deletheia
(Azthor) The Archspawn
(Fniff) Nambe
(Ghazkull) Wieland
(gman8181) Ode
(Harbingerjm) Radiant Sarthisyn
(ragnarok97071) Magnus
(Shootandrun) Hakkaros
(Vagel7) Yahkuz


Remember that the rules for this new Godhood are different!
There is no summary of the changes. Instead, you should read all the rules and comment on them if you will.


The wiki has to be updated!
Please add the rules, all included links and change the contents where applicable!


We are still working on the map for Godhood VIII.
It is scheduled to be finished at 19/09/2013, but this date might be subject to change. I will be able to further advise the contents of the map if necessary for one's posts.

[Caesar]

Summary of Turns

Original Post
Announcements


This post will constantly be updated with any relevant information. If you are actively participating/generally interested in Godhood, make sure to routinely check this post for any updates.


Turn Two: Schemes

Turn One: Ambition
Turn Zero: The Keeper

Spoiler: Gods & Essence (click to show/hide)

Code: [Select]

(Atilliano) Deletheia: 3 Essence
(Azthor) The Archspawn: 3 Essence
(Fniff) Nambe: 3 Essence
(Ghazkull) Wieland: 3 Essence
(gman8181) Ode: 3 Essence
(Harbingerjm) Radiant Sarthisyn: 2 Essence
(ragnarok97071) Magnus: 3 Essence
(Shootandrun) Hakkaros: 3 Essence
(Vagel7) Yahkuz: 2 Essence


Sheets:

Atilliano

Spoiler: Delatheia (click to show/hide)

Name: Delatheia

Title(s): None

Sphere(s): Abundance

Human Manifestation: A young woman with long, brown hair. The color of her eyes is a dark blue, like the oceans. She wears a short dress with the same color as red wine. An aura of kindness seems to radiate from her.

Characteristic Attributes: Fish, Wine and Deer.

Description of the Character: Kind, benevolent and charitable are the words that would best describe Delatheia. She is driven by her desire to help people. By her will the land is fertile or arid, fish are abundant or scarce, and deer are many or few. She is slow to anger, terrible when angry yet quick to forgive. Delatheia punishes the greedy and vile with hunger, famine and in some cases death, while she blesses those who are kind and charitable. She is fascinated by every aspect of the lives of mortals, and often blends into the crowd to see them from up close.

Azthor

Spoiler: The Archspawn (click to show/hide)

Title: the Archspawn. Suggested alternatives, if necessary and subject to cultural interpretations: the Dark One, the Bound God, the Enemy to All, Lord of the Abyss, He Who Knows Not, the Everburning, the Molten God, the Bloodtoller.

Spheres: Earth & Fire

Human manifestation: a decrepit old man barely dressed in ragged cloths, shackled and deprived of all senses, his skin leathery and cracking. Blood seems to spontaneously converge into a pool around his feet.

Characteristic attributes: wasted potential, corruption, imprisonment, blood, darkness, fire and brimstone.

Description of the character: a dark and terrible entity, the bowels of the Earth which He presides over are both the world's most expansive and least inhabited expanses, a realm where darkness would absolute if not for earth's lifeblood, fire, and the light, however, unwelcome, that comes with it. Slow to act, and yet horrendously destructive when He does, the Archspawn is, in His dealing with mortals, an antagonist, an agent of dread and decadence who takes great mirth in the corruption, physical and spiritual, of mortals. Though more a source of fear than worship, as it is unlikely that a temple would ever be raised to one such an entity, He is, in the pursuit of His goals, the one most likely to actively bargain with mortals, and will exact His price from royalty and commoners alike, always at great cost to the mortal and those around them.

Indeed, that the Archspawn played a part in creation of all creatures mortal is clear, for sure as earth is the source of all flesh and fire the means through which it derives life. so is blood their twisted progeny, an odd mockery of the fire and brimstone of the deity's realm. Even so, mortals cannot help but grudgingly admit that a deity content in giving life to humankind's worst fears, hell-spawns and abominations that most only ever conceive of in their dreams, and an unfortunate few happen upon when delving into the depths of human decadence and the deeps were they were never meant to reach into, could have played such a part in their upbringing. Or so legends go.

It is just as feasible that the Archspawn be an antagonist born of their own belief, in their desire to blame their shortcomings in the divine; an antagonist born of their own fears and frailties so that they could rest easy under the assumption of which their wrongdoings were not theirs to make, but the fruit of an inherently flawed nature. An even more obscure possibility, and one that few would dare suggest, is that creation myth is, indeed correct, and the unthinkable happened: the divine was corrupted by the mundane.

Either way, due to His role, He sees His fellows deities as adversaries, though it would be against His nature to directly oppose Them, apart from the direst of circumstances, preferring to subvert Their creations and deeds into effects more to his His liking. In fact, He most often deals through His agents, the tainted creations of other deities and other, more primal entities, given life from the human mind; some, the more mundane, reside on the surface, fueling the the very same folktales and myths that conceived them, whereas others, more terrible and, often enough, a wrong upon creation, lurk underground, emerging only on auspicious occasions, usually attached to their patron's unholy blood rites (...).

Fniff

Spoiler: Nambe (click to show/hide)

Name: Nambe

Title(s): The Sacrifice, the Swamp Guardian, the Steppe Watcher.

Sphere(s): Earth + Afterlife

Human manifestation: Nambe manifests as a male figure, in his old culture's dress: a hooded robe of dry grass, a rope reed mask. In his current form, the mask is a single stylized eye with no visible ways to see out. He is of average height, perhaps a little short. However, a smell of either dry grass or wetness follows with him depending upon his current state of mind, and his movement is very calculated as if he is actively making an effort to move around.
Characteristic attributes: Life feeding into the earth, growing from the dead. The wet claustrophobia of the swamp, and the dry expanse of the steppe. The crocodile of the swamps, and the horse of the steppes.

Description of the character: Nambe was not born a god. He was born a hunter to a peaceful tribe known as the Kanskians who lived on the border between a swamp and a steppe. The Kanskians did not worship any of the gods, and only believed one tenet: With all life comes energy, and as one life ends the energy goes out into the earth itself. An evil man filled with bad energy being killed would corrupt the land and make those who lived upon it more likely to spill yet more blood. A good man filled with bright energy would make the land fertile and happy. Apart from this, not much is known about the Kanskians: they were a standoffish tribe who wore masks around outsiders and did not permit anyone to enter their lands under pain of a punishment that no-one knew of since no-one entered their lands. Their end came swiftly and painfully when a horde of steppe riders rode into the villages of the Kanskians and killed every man woman and child. Only two were left: a mortally wounded Nambe, and the last shaman of the tribe. The shaman saw that the energy emitted by the brutal murder of the Kanskians would not only pollute their lands, but pollute the world itself. So, he dragged Nambe to the place where the steppe and the swamp met, and began a sacrifice that would bring Nambe into the earth itself. After the sacrifice was finished and Nambe was dead, the shaman followed suit.

The hunter woke up within the world of spirits. He could see the dark energy caused by the brutal deaths of the Kanskians was ready to infect the world. Using the memory of his bow, he hunted the energy and harvested it, taking it into himself and using it to power himself. From there, he graduated to being a god of in charge of making sure the energy of the world remains stable.
Nambe was generally a pleasant and polite character when he was alive, and he still is. He knows his duty and follows it, but he has an empathy for humans, and generally attempts to keep them satisfied as well. However, as the distance grows between his body and his current form, he has begun to forget being human and knows more of being a spirit. Whether this is a good thing or a bad thing we'll find out: for now he is stable. But how long will that be?

Ghazkull

Spoiler: Wieland (click to show/hide)

Name: Wieland

Title(s): The Crippled Smith, The Wanderer

Sphere(s): Poverty, Earth and Smithies

Human manifestation: He appears as a blond large caucasian male, with a crippled leg and smith's clothes, or the clothes of a peasant

Characteristic attributes: Associated with Tools and Iron

Description of the character: Wieland is known as a pessimistic, depressed god. Often depicted in many stories as betrayed by the gods and mortal (aswell as divine and immortal) women, he is eternally on the search for a wife. He has two aspects: The Wandering Aspect, in which he becomes a sociable Old Man, a teller of stories wandering the lands and spreading poverty to the greedy and the avaricious and giving gifts(mostly artifacts of great power created during his Smith Aspect) to those who spend freely and who are good hosts.

In his other aspect his leg becomes crippled and he becomes a young bearded male. He emits an Aura which repulses females and his general psychological outlook becomes darker and depressed. Searching for places of Solitudes he sets up his Smithy and creates Artifacts of great Power and gives them to those he either deems worthy or who can promise him a wife. In this aspect he creates vast arsenals filled with artifacts and weapons and tools. Once he has created enough or been betrayed by his promised wife he turns back into the Wanderer aspect, eternally changing between a nomadic lifestyle and a sedentary one.

gman8181

Spoiler: Ode (click to show/hide)

Name: Ode

Title: The Eternal Master, The Guiding Voice, The Oppressor

Sphere: Domination and Manipulation

Manifestation: Ode appears as whatever is necessary to dominate or manipulate the beings around it. If a being is more easily swayed by beauty, they shall see something exquisitely beautiful in accordance with their own personal preferences or ideals. In contrast if they are more easily swayed by fear, they may see something horrendous ripped out of their own worst fears and nightmares. An individual who loves riches may see a kingly figure surrounded by piles of coin, just as someone who loves books may see a kindly librarian keeping tab on an infinitely large stock of written material housing untold knowledge. A lord who loves power may see Ode as an enemy unassailable, unconquerable and impossible to defeat, whichever is most likely to make the mortal succumb to Ode's power. Only the strongest willed of beings can resist the powers of Ode and see its true nature if not its true form. These beings may perceive Ode as a slithering, slimy parasitic creature of immense size and power, not because Ode necessarily has that true form but because it more accurately describes its nature than the various forms it may take to corrupt mortals to its will.

Characteristic Attributes: Ode appears in many ways and thus the symbols associated with the Oppressor may vary from one location to another. Generally however, its more devoted followers use the symbol of a square containing a triangle which contains a circle. This is essentially a crude attempt at representing that the outwardly appearance of Ode is not its true appearance and that even if you see past the outer image into something deeper, one is still unlikely to truly perceive the form of Ode. Sometimes parasites and other somewhat repulsive but secretive creatures are used to represent Ode.

Description: Created from the very concepts of Domination and Manipulation, Ode innately desires to control all things. In order to go about achieving this, it will utilize its namesake tools of domination and manipulation to turn the universe to its own purpose. Ode would much rather control something than destroy it but if the latter will result in more of the former somewhere down the line, the means justify the end.

Harbingerjm

Spoiler: Radiant Sarthisyn (click to show/hide)

[/i]Name:[/i] Radiant Sarthisyn

Title(s): The Golden Flame

Sphere(s): Purity, Healing, Fire

Human manifestation: When Radiant Sarthisyn manifests as a human, it does so as a youth, usually female, with glowing golden hair, sun-tanned skin, and eyes of golden fire. When trying to be subtle, it avoids the glow and fire, but keeps to a colour scheme of mostly yellows, golds and reds.

Characteristic attributes: Fire, burning eyes, heated metal. All three where practical (and sometimes where not).

Description of the character: Radiant Sarthisyn values drive, purity and inner fire. As such, it is mostly uncaring about the exact goals of its worshippers, focusing instead on purity of form, mind and purpose. Pure self-interest is just as valid a motivation for a worshipper as pure self-sacrifice. It does value those who dedicate themselves to purifying others more highly than most, though, especially when that takes the form of healing the sick or injured or instilling purpose and drive in those without.

ragnarok97071

Spoiler: Magnus (click to show/hide)

Name: Magnus/Magnus'ka'naet

Title(s): Runespeaker, First and Transcendant Mage, Weaver of the Immaculate Tapestry.

Sphere(s): Magic, Knowledge (in that order of priority in event of a sphere limit)

Human manifestation: A cloaked form, hood shrouding his features completely, voluminous robes covering his form and preventing any glimpses of His true form. Even manipulation of objects around him is through magic, and not even his most senior priests are sure if his voice is truly speech or simply a magical projection.

Characteristic attributes: Looms, Spiders.

Description of the character: Magnus remains mysterious despite all attempts to discern his temperament, his plans, and even his true origins. He communes little with other gods and mortals, and tends even then to give them only the information pertaining to what he wishes of them. He also appears to be a firm believer in fairness, often requesting an equivalent exchange in return for his workings.

Shootandrun

Spoiler: Hakkaros (click to show/hide)

Name: Hakkaros

Title(s): The Storm King

Sphere(s): War & Thunder

Human manifestation: A man in a black armor, with a red wolf emblazoned upon it. His helmet hides any features.

Characteristic attributes: Wolves - particularly red - are associated with him. Storms are often seen as a sign of his intervention.

Description of the character: Hakkaros is defined by his hatred of stagnation. He believes that only in times of chaos and war can the world truly prosper. When peace reigns, all mortals act as though they were equals, despite the fact that they are not - some are inherently stronger than others, and that is what the god of war wished to bring out in humanity. Peace only brings stagnation, and stagnation only leads to decadence, as mortals forget that the world they live in is dangerous, and as they grow soft and abandon strength in favor of such things as education or trade.

Hakkaros is not an inherently evil god; his purpose is greater than mere good or evil. It is to bring out the best amongst humans, to elevate them to the rank of legends, to ensure they are never forgotten - as it should be. He wishes to reward those mortals that are inherently better than those around them - stronger, faster, smarter, braver... And the best way to achieve such a thing is to make these qualities necessary. That is not the only reason, of course - for he knows that mankind can only fall if it is not constantly challenged, constantly reminded that it must be wary, that power is the only strength. That is the way of Hakkaros - the strong must rule the weak, and the old must burn if the new is to prosper.

As a god, he is not petty. The storms and thunder are a way of expressing his strength, of making his ideal of the world into a reality - they bring forth chaos, and they cull the weak. He is not prone to anger or to other such emotions, and he is generous in his rewards to those who earned his favor. However, such favor can be fleeting - those who abandon his ways often find it to abandon them, or even punish them for their failures.

Vagel7

Spoiler: Yahkuz (click to show/hide)

Name: Yahkuz

Title(s): The Fallen, The King of the Dead

Sphere(s): Afterlife

Human manifestation: Yahkuz prefers to manifest himself as an old man wearing simple black robes and a chain around his waist. On that chain there is a simple dagger, it looks like something a simple merchant might have on him. He has a wearisome look to him and the features of his face look tired and aged. His cheeks are hollow and he has thin, colourless lips. Probably the most displeasing characteristics about him are the dark bottomless eyes resting atop a crooked nose and his deep voice. His voice has a slighty otherwordly feel to it.
Even with this lofty robe he looks very thin and his crooked, long-fingered hands are usually hidden under the long dark sleeves of his robe.

Characteristic attributes: Yahkuz is symbolized by black dogs and skulls.

Description of the character: Yahkuz is generally patient. His afterlife has given him much peace to rule over the dead. He likes to have discussions over life and death. With this he looks kindly upon scholars as he himself is a great lover of knowledge. Though he is the god of death he does not ravage the battlefields in order to find new warriors to fight in the afterlife. Instead he grants mortals peace in the afterlife, like sleep after so many years of hardship. Truly there are deeper pits in the afterlife, but those are reserved for people of much greater sin. Though Yahkuz is peacefull he will become unstoppable and fearsome. An angered King of the Dead is a god who will then rain down death without mercy using his power to summon the armies of his kingdom.

[Caesar]

There we go. The thread is now open to posts and discussions and after some minor adjustments, I'm going to catch up on sleep.

[Ghazkull]

Okay which gods got chosen?

[ragnarok97071]

Holy shit it's another godhood.

Also a bit late for me to join probably :/ Agaaaain.

Assuming you did the recruiting on another thread or something.

[Caesar]

Okay which gods got chosen?

None yet. As I wrote in the announcements, I am still accepting applications.

Assuming you did the recruiting on another thread or something.

Sort of, but the 'recruiting' is not done yet. I have a list of players who take precedence for the eight slots that are currently open, but if they fail to submit anything I will fill the open slots with anyone else who decided to submit a sheet.

[Harbingerjm]

Well, I've sent a sheet in.

[Fniff]

I already sent my sheet in.

[vagel7]

I also sent mine in a few days ago.

[Caesar]

I am popping in to let you know that I received your sheets in good order and that I am still, of course, monitoring the game. The start of the game is still scheduled on Sunday!

[Caesar]

Work is currently being done on the map for this new Godhood. In the meantime, I'm sorting through the character sheets again.

(note the passive sense! While my skill with the pen may be highly respected, it applies solely to words and not to images. I found someone else, who actually knows what he is doing.)

[Harbingerjm]

(note the passive sense! While my skill with the pen may be highly respected, it applies solely to words and not to images. I found someone else, who actually knows what he is doing.)

Delegation is the key to successful leadership.

[gman8181]

PTW and all that good stuff. Eagerly awaiting the start of this game, no rush haha

Edit: Also out of curiosity but will we be notified soon regarding whether or not our sent character sheets were acceptable or not?

[Shootandrun]

How are things going? (please tell us they're going well)