Universe 2: Newtonian
Enthalpy 0/9 | Quandary 0/3
This universe is diverse. You notice upon entering that there are four moons, and four races - and one god. The universe is ruled over by the great judge god Kseowhat, who keeps the races living in harmony.
The planet is covered in majestic mountains, beautiful prairies, formidable deserts, powerful rivers. There are good sized icecaps at either pole. Four continents make up its land area, which covers 70 percent of the surface. There are clear climate belts and different weather systems. Mankind exists in an early Renaissance age of technology. They have colonized the coastlines of all continents in two sprawling kingdoms. They live in harmony with the tortoiselike Ka, shelled reptiles around the size of a dog that can walk on two legs. The Ka are more strategic and more warlike than the humans - despite not having any conflict at the moment, they are ever vigilant and ever planning. They share the same cities as the humans and have worked side-by-side for centuries.
The planet is also home to the Aissh, a race of intelligent, gigantic scorpions. They live below the surface of deserts in vast communal burrows. As the deserts are too hostile for mankind to venture in, contact with the other races has been slow. They have a family-based culture and a rich, but stifling set of traditions. Adherence to the laws of civilization is of tantamount important for them. The other races find them frightening and their ways strange. Due to this and the incompatibility of climates, they rarely mingle with other species, but relations are good. They are distinctly separated socially and politically from the Humans and Ka, but serve as chemists and medical scientists, sometimes using their own venom as part of a cure.
The innermost moon, named Meridian, swirls with deep blue-purple clouds. Its atmosphere is corrosive, the blue mists deadly to all known life. The surface contains deposits of the rare element Meridianum, which inverts properties of physics near it - for instance, it is extremely heavy when oxidized, but is light when in pure form. Thus the ore rocks weigh as much as, well, rocks, while pure crystals, which are silvery and translucent, can basically be juggled. When alloyed with brass in a ratio of 1:108, it creates a substantially lighter and far stronger metal that is very hard and completely invulnerable to heat or corrosion. In the cold upper regions of Meridian's turbulent atmosphere, energized by lightning storms, Meridianum enters into clathrate and metallocene complexes with various organic compounds. In this state, the Meridianum actually catalyzes nuclear reactions, so that these materials burn with fusion as well as chemically. This makes them a very useful source of rocket fuel that can be found in the upper atmosphere of Meridian.
The middle moon, Datum, is a small thing covered in rolling hills and savannah. It is inhabited by the Da, a species of intelligent plants that look like eggplants. The bulbous purple structure above ground is actually a enzymatic processing and fluid management hub akin to a cross between a heart, liver, and kidney. The Da collect sunlight for food and their intelligence is spread across a network of fungus-like strands underground that function as a brain for them. Immature Da can crawl using their roots before deciding upon a spot to stay. Da can exchange information and communicate by connecting their roots and transmitting long-term memories as genetic strands. Having little to do but sit, think, and discuss, they are natural philosophers and hold debates about religion and the meaning of life. They also know things about ecology and chemistry, and the latest generation is working on an interplanetary wormhole. First contact with the planet has not yet happened, but both worlds know of the presence of life on the other and both have budding astronomy programs, so it cannot be long. The Deian relationship with law is rocky at best; they know of Kseowhat’s presence and dislike such a forceful imposition of law.
The outer moon is brilliant blue and surrounded by glittering cyan rings. As you come close, you will realize that it is not a moon at all, but a vast, honeycombed structure, with passages and corridors leading to the interior. The entire moon serves as a giant power amplifier for Kseowhat, and holds his legions of angels and followers. Kseowhat’s architecture is structured around the number five, and pentagons, as well as dodecahedrons with pentagons for sides, recur in the gigantic building. What appear to be motes of dust in the rings are actually gigantic pentagonal habitats, each containing a sliver of demigod life and each serving as a lens to increase the range of Kseowhat’s abilities. At the core is the courtroom of Kseowhat, and at the exact geometric center of the perfect sphere is the simple but majestic bench on which he decides his cases.
Kseowhat is the ultimate judge. He upholds the law without prejudice, without fail - but without emotion, without mercy. His decisions are exacting and brutal - and absolute. His minions and worshippers are policemen and judges and ensure that every mortal is judged according to the laws of his civilization. All mortals are allowed to petition for a decision before him. All people can appeal to his court. If he decides that it is worth it, he will personally judge their cases, call witnesses, ask questions, come to a decision. Asking such a thing requires immense courage - but can grant the ultimate acquittal for a convict, as a decision before that lofty bench will stand in any mortal court.
Turns
Each turn corresponds to six hours. That means four turns to a day. Gods declare all their actions and they are executed at the end of a turn.
Mortal events may be reported at any time.
Forest and the trees
There are issues with being divine. The more power you have, the less you can perceive the world, and you have to give up brute force in exchange for finesse.
Gods are split into multiple shards, each of which acts on its own each turn. Each shard is bound to a particular area, and cannot act outside this area. As the size of the area decreases, so does the power of the actions. However, smaller shards get more actions and can aim these actions better.
Note that shard size limits what you can see as well. It dictates how precise I'll make my descriptions of areas. For example, if you have a shard that covers the entire planet, I won't give the name and description of every single town. Also, although you, as the player, control all shards of your god, you can't target actions based upon observations of smaller shards. The larger shard simply can't see the target.
Shards are created with one action from a shard of a larger size. Mind that you can create vastly smaller shards, but targeting restrictions still apply. For example, a planet-sized shard can create a town-sized one - but you can't pick which town.
There are eight tiers of shard size:
Universal, which spans an entire universe or even more. All gods enter as one of these. They get to act once a turn, but cannot do anything but generate shards on odd number turns. Universal shards can make additions to the fundamental laws of the universe. They have trouble seeing more than the simplest details of conditions on a planetary surface. As shards that spread across the universe, they are the only ones that can create Memetic or Anchored shards.
Planetary, which influence an entire world in the cosmos. Their power is enough to drastically change the environment of their domain - creating new weather patterns, sinking continents, reshaping the land. They get one action a turn. They cannot sense or target objects below continent size.
Continental, which have an area of effect equal to a large country or small continent. Continental shards can exert divine force at town-sized scales - leveling cities, carving rivers. Notably, they cannot make drastic changes to the terrain or climate around them - making a hill, or starting a small storm, is as good as it gets. They get 2 actions per turn. They can view features on their surface, but have difficulty interacting on human or even town-sized scales.
Biome shards have influence over a particular geographic region, perhaps the size of a small country, whose features and nature are consistent - that is, a biome. Towns also count. They can exert limited actions over their area of purview. Three actions a turn. They CANNOT modify the terrain or make any large creations or destructions, larger than say, a good sized mountain. They can't resolve people and smaller things, basically.
Local, which affect an area of a few acres. It's a small landmark, like a pond or church. They can't create or destroy, period, and mostly can grant status effects and transmute and stuff. However, they get to see and target ABSOLUTELY ANYTHING within their purview. Also, 4 actions a turn. They can be used to communicate with mortals within the effect with no cost.
Memetic shards are tied to a particular idea or mode of thinking. They get the perception and powers of a Local shard, but over all areas within view of a sentient being that exhibits the relevant idea or thinks in the right way. They also get significant power over the creatures that fit the description, able to boost their abilities, possess them, or kill them instantly. In addition, while they get as many acts as a Local shard, they are also able to take action whenever a significant figure exhibits their meme in a large way - which means theoretically unlimited actions. However, only Universal shards can create them.
Anchored shards are spread through mortals that worship the god they are a part of. The major difference between these and Memetic shards is that mortals spreading an Anchored shard must be aware of what they're doing. They get 4 acts a turn with the power of a Biome shard but the precision of a Local one, and depending on the fervor of the followers, their concentration, and sacrifices they make, the power can be drastically increased in some areas - potentially to Planetary levels. They can communicate with worshippers at no cost. Must be created by a Universal shard.
Descended shards have willingly taken mortal form. They represent a tiny fragment of the nigh-infinite power of a god, sent to do his or her bidding on the material plane. The downside, of course, is that they can actually be killed. However, they get considerable abilities - specifically, in any area the god is interested in, they have enough power and skill to best any mortal. In other areas, they get the 75th percentile of mortal ability just by being connected to a god. Appearance and abilities can be chosen by the god. Shards can't create Descended, they elect to Descend at the beginning of a turn, before their actions. The targeting of start location is dependent on their perception. And perhaps most importantly, Descended shards can see everything a mortal can see - and action count is limited only by how fast you can post.
Starting shards
All gods get a Universal shard.
If you started in this universe, you also get different smaller shards based upon what I think your god would do before the chase started. Tachyon, for example, is getting a Memetic geared at Warfare.
The devil you know
Kseowhat is watching.
Anytime you cause an action, there is a chance that Kseowhat will notice. If he does, he may deploy a shard of himself to intervene.
The chance is equal to one out of <shard actions per turn>. A 1dn will be rolled, and if you get 1, it is detected. Note that this means Universal and Planetary shards are always detected. The exception is for shard creations, in which the number for the smaller shard is used instead. The exception to that is that the very first shard creation is totally invisible.
GO!
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Topic: Roll to Dodge: Acter's Revenge (Read 20745 times)