Flavor
Somewhere, in the midst of vast ocean, was a small island. Untouched by sapient hands, and unnoticed by the gods, a spark of life has grown to a tropical paradise there, where simple creatures frolic in peace.
They knew not of the Gods’ war.
One fateful day, a small sliver of a sundered divinity fell upon the island like a comet. It happened -not out of any fate or meaning- to fall upon a den of fluffy wamblers. The furry critters were instantly vaporized by its glory.
Then, they reformed.
Bestowed with power beyond mortal ken, they became more than they once was. Millennia of mortal lore flooded their being. They learned of the war. They learned of their need for vengeance. To bring fire and blood to the treacherous gods that destroyed their Once-self, that right now, would be moving to erase every trace of them.
But this hidden haven will remain so a while longer. There was another pressing matter. The wamblers are not one God. And with the fire of Dominion burning within them, each could not bear to rule without their kin subservient to them. One of them headed towards the centre of the island, and attuned to the crystal spire that had grown there.
And so began a tale of tyranny, but for how long, before the throne would change its owner?
Alright, what the hell is this?
Inspired by the video game “Obey”, this is a “god game” in which one player is the Overlord, and the others are the wamblers. Attuned the Divine Throne, the Overlord would passively extract Essence from the island, which can be used to build structures. The game ends when the island runs dry of Essence, signaling the time to leave.
Essence
To elaborate, Essence is the main focus of the game. Each player have their own store of Essence. When they die, they lose Essence as it gets used up to rebuild them a new body. Various structures can be built to harvest the Essence from the island, such as a mine. The Overlord also slowly gain Essence each turn.
Essence can be used up by the Overlord in order to create structures of their design. They would want to use this to build things such as a mine, or a laboratory. Generally speaking, structures require one wambler or more operating them in order to work. Certain special structures may be controlled by the Overlord directly, usually costing Essence to do so. Upgraded strucutres may operate autonomously at a reduced productivity rate, freeing up the wamblers for other tasks, or giving the Overlord more independence.
The Overlord can entice wamblers to cooperate by rewarding them with Essence to put them ahead of their less cooperative/effective peers.
Essence cannot be spent by wamblers! The Overlord cannot force their underlings to shell out to build. Additionally, you can’t have a negative Essence balance.
Victory and defeat
When Essence runs out, the player with the most essence wins and everyone else loses.
When all wamblers concede, the Overlord wins and all the wamblers lose.
When the Overlord Spire is destroyed, everyone loses.
Remember that at the end of the day, this is not a team game. Your goal is to have the most Essence to yourself as you can, while keeping the Spire intact.
Don't be so serious, though, because the “random scenarios” are actually written by me, and while I try to be fair, I may not be as fair as RNGesus. Plus, I prioritize fun, so doing silly things that amuse me might earn you extra brownie points.
Overlord
At the start of the game, a random wambler will become the Overlord.
The Overlord is the master of wamblers, and the architect of the island’s structures. You can expend Essence in order to create anything you dream of- well, occasionally with some additional components.
You and the wamblers must ensure the survival of the Overlord Spire against ‘natural’ disasters and invaders, while you must also make sure you remain Overlord.
You passively earn 5 Essence each turn. This is usually a paltry amount compared to the Essence you can earn by making your underlings work, though.
Aside from whatever powers you may develop later, you have two basis powers which can be used any time and multiple times in a turn:
Smite: Expend 5 Essence to kill a wambler. Use this as a punitive measure to keep your wamblers in line. But the wamblers only lose 1 Essence per death, so don’t overdo it lest you end up with less Essence than the wamblers.
Reward: Transfer any amount of Essence from you to a wambler. Use this to reward a certain wambler for serving you well. Obviously, don’t overdo this.
Wamblers
You are the underlings, the foot soldiers. You start with 10 Essence. You, uh, pretty much do anything it takes to operate the island. You have the anatomy of a small fluffy bunny, but your legs are capable of fine manipulation. (Don’t think too much about it)
Or you can choose to sabotage structures, or take a ⅙ chance to try to attune to the Spire and become the new Overlord, killing the previous Overlord. If you fail, you die.
Various dangers can kill you, making you lose a flat amount of 1 Essence and make you unable to take an action the next turn before respawning.
Structures
The structures are the god game part of this game. Essence is used to create them, from a botanical garden, a mine, to a turret or a giant mech. The Overlord must pay the price, and then the wamblers will do the work to build them.
The wamblers have a long memory, but most of it is fuzzy. Research will be needed to figure out how to build more complex things.
There is no set Essence cost and tech tree to how to build things. You just have to ask me. If you think something is unfair, feel free to let me know.
Scenarios
Certain events in the island occur which can be capitalized on, or have to be dealt with. They can threaten to destroy the Spire, causing a game over for everyone. Both the Overlord and the wamblers must work together to ensure the Spire’s survival.