We stand on the ashes of a devastated universe.
Gone are the mighty civilizations and the vibrant worlds nurtured by the watchful hand of Four Ancient Lords.
None knows what led to the World's downfall, what led to the Four Lords' annihilation, and the subsequent birth of the Four Primordial Beasts.
Was it the collapse of Time?
Or the destruction of our Fates?
Could it have been the implosion of Cosmos?
Or the ravening hunger of the Abyss?
The answer has been lost with in the Abyss.
All that remains are Four Beasts, their temperament only temporarily quelled by the current state of Chaos.
Without Creation, without Gods, Chaos will soon turn into pure Order and the Four Beasts will go on a final rampage...
The Chaos Scale is trembling.You are a Divine Spirit. A God. A Duck with Great Powers and Responsibilities. You have been thrown
in media res in some magnificent mess, and it would be good if things didn't explode in your face so soon!
***
Setting:All of creation is gone, and the universe was nearly annihilated. Five entities predate your existence.
The Chaos Scale: an astral contraption connected to Chaos, it indicates the state of Chaos in the Universe. If Chaos is too low or too high, the Scale will become unbalanced, causing the Primordial Beasts to go on increasingly devastating rampages.
The Fate Dragon: the Primordial Beast of Fate. It lords over destinies, allowing it to decide the course of the universe.
The Time Leviathan: the Primordial Beast of Time. It lords over the flow of time, allowing it to control the progression of the universe.
The Cosmic Behemoth: the Beast of the Cosmos. It lords over the fabric of reality, allowing it to control the rules of the universe.
The Cosmos: the domain of the Cosmic Behemoth. Creation cannot exist outside of its confines. Only divine entities are exempt from this restriction.
The Abyssal Creature: the Beast of the Abyss. It is said to lord over the deepest oblivion, and its awakening would spell the doom of the entire universe -Gods included-.
The Abyss: the domain of the Abyssal Creature. Extremely hostile, this is where the things that haven't yet been consumed by the Creature ended up. Who knows what wonders/horrors await there?
*** Mechanics ***
Turn Flow:
A turn starts with the Players Turn, and is immediately followed by the World Turn. At the end of the World Turn, the Chaos Scale is updated.
Players actions are processed during the Players Turn.
Players Actions:
The gentleman's code suggests an action limit of:
- 4 Creation/Alteration/Destruction attempts
- 2 Activity Actions
- 0 Secret Actions
A breach of the code will make the offender a very naughty boy, no matter your species.
Preferably post Secret Actions in spoilers rather than sending them via PMs! Have some mercy for the confused observers who can't play!
Divine Spirits:
As Divine beings, you cannot be harmed by weapons or powers lacking the spark of Divinity. The Abyss does not affect you, you are immortals, and your teeth never ache.
Ichor is the lifeblood of the Gods, the proof of Divinity. Losing all of its Ichor incurs a loss of Divinity, leaving one open to definitive death. Ichor is a finite resource, and does not recover over time.
> Used to create uniquely powerful entities.
> Protect from the Abyss.
> Ichor cannot be stacked above 5. Excess Ichor will cause the God to split and be unable to recover Power for two turns. A T4 independent entity will be created as a result.
Power is the raw power of the Gods, which they use to create, and destroy. Power cannot be stored.
> Used for all actions pertaining to creation, alteration and destruction. Very fast.
> Regenerate over time.
Acts are a crystallization of belief and recognition. They can be obtained from the worship of mortals, and from incredible feats that would cause even the Beasts to take notice.
> Can be used instead of Power.
> Is used through an Activity, which requires more time to execute than Power-based actions.
In this game, it will be very important to manage the state of Chaos in the World. Insufficient or excessive Chaos will cause the Beasts to stir and possibly end the game.
At the end of each turn, the Chaos Scale is updated, allowing players to decide on the next course of action.
Chaos Levels:
0: Nonexistent
1-2: Insufficient
3-4: Scarce
5-6: Acceptable
7-8: Heavy
9-10: Excessive
11+: Critical
Acceptable: the Beasts mind their business, and will only act if disturbed.
Scarce/Heavy: the Beasts start going on a rampage
Insufficient/Excessive: the Beasts start to act whether or not they are disturbed.
Nonexistent/Critical: all Beasts are going on a rampage. This is probably the end.
Order Equilibrium:
The value the scale would reach if all the Chaos of the world were to be removed.
Chaos Generation:
There are two types of Chaos. Permanent Chaos, and Temporary Chaos.
> Permanent Chaos is generated by existing. Powerful entities generate greater amount of Permanent Chaos than weaker entities.
Insignificant beings individually do not generate much Permanent Chaos, but in greater numbers they could rival the generation of a single greater entity.
Gods do not produce Chaos.
> Temporary Chaos lasts a few turns at most. It is generally created through activity. The more powerful the activity, the greater the Temporary Chaos generated.
Powers:
The Beasts have various powers which they will use to affect the world. Gods are immune to the powers of the Beasts, save for the Abyssal Creature.
The Beasts are also immune to these powers, and naturally immune to the powers of the Gods.
Fate:
- Can affect the outcome of dice rolls.
- Can create prophecies, statements that will occur no matter what.
Time:
- Can affect the flow of time, causing stagnation or accelerated growth.
- Can freeze prophecies.
Cosmos:
- Can affect the rules of the World, making them void, or making them more powerful.
- Can extend the cosmos, causing Chaos to diminish.
Abyss:
- Can unleash the Abyss.
Observation:
The Beasts can be observed in order to predict their actions. This counts as an Activity.
Beast-slaying:
While the Beasts are vastly superior to the Gods, they are by no mean invincible. If a Beast were to be slain, its Primordial Essence would be ripe for the taking, granting its powers to those who would claim it. This power can be shared, or not...
*** Acting like a God: Creation, Destruction, Combat ***
Your
Power and
Acts can be used to create, reshape, and destroy.
The types of creations are mainly here to guide your creation efforts, to give you an idea of what to expect. You should by no mean feel constrained by them.
Before we start, it is important to understand what Tiers mean in this game.
Tiers represent the position of an entity in the cosmic hierarchy.
All entities possess a Tier, from which they derive a potential, as well as a protection against powers of lesser tiers.
If an entity possess special powers, its Tier will determine the potency of said powers.
Tiers:
+ determine potential
+ grant protection against powers of lesser tiers
+ increase destruction difficulty
Tier 1: the tier of Mortality.
Tier 2: the tier of Longevity.
Tier 3: the tier of Immortality.
Tier 4: the tier of Partial Divinity.
Tier 5: the tier of Divinity.
Tier 6: the tier of Primordial Beasts.
Ichor in creations:Three points:
+ Ichor confers a special protection against the action of other Gods: Gods cannot alter a T4 entity if they do not share Ichor with them.
+ An entity possessing Ichor cannot be harmed by attacks lacking in Divinity. That means they can only be harmed by Gods and above, or other T4 entities.
+ An entity of Tier 3 or lower attempting to take in Ichor will more than likely explode.
World Shaping:
Giving shape to the World, generating a lot of temporary Chaos in the ordeal.
Several Divine Worlds generate 6 temporary Chaos upon their creation, and passively generate 3 Chaos.
A Divine World generates 3 temporary Chaos upon creation, and passively generates 1 Chaos.
Several Lesser Worlds generate 2 temporary Chaos upon their creation, and passively generate 1 Chaos.
A Lesser World generates 1 temporary Chaos upon creation, and passively generates 0 Chaos.
Several Regions generate 1 temporary Chaos upon creation.
Shaping related temporary Chaos lasts for two turns, including the turn of creation.
(Tier 4) Shape a Divine World: 1 Ichor, 5 Power / 3 Ichor, 10 Power (Several)
(Tier 3) Shape a Lesser World: 5 Power / 7 Power (Several)
(Tier 2) Shape a Region: 3 Power / 4 Power (Several)
(Tier 1) Shape a Location: 1 Power / 2 Power (Several)
Guidelines:
Divine World: unlimited sustainability.
Lesser World: can sustain Countless Species of life
Region: can sustain Many Species of life
Location: can sustain a Group of life
Servants:
Extensions of the Gods, Servants are directly linked to their creator. Absolutely loyal, they will do whatever their creator order them to.
Servants usually generate less Chaos than Life through their activity.
They can survive in the Abyss for longer than any other non-divine entity, which isn't that long either.
(Tier 4) Aspect: 1 Ichor, 5 Power (Unit)
(Tier 3) Greater Servant: 5 Power (Unit) / 7 Power (Group) / 9 Power (Army)
(Tier 2) Servants: 3 Power (Unit) / 4 Power (Group) / 5 Power (Army)
(Tier 1) Lesser Servant: 1 Power (Unit) / 2 Power (Group) / 3 Power (Army)
Life and Mortals:
Matter given life. All life possesses a soul, from the simplest lifeform to the most powerful entity. All life may grow, evolve, and even ascend given the right circumstances.
Creatures generate less Chaos than Mortals through their activity, but generally more so than Servants.
Mortals generate a lot of Chaos through their activity. The more powerful and numerous, the more Chaos they are likely to generate.
(Tier 4) Divine Beast: 1 Ichor, 5 Power (Individual)
(Tier 3) Greater Monster: 5 Power (Individual) / 7 Power (Group) / 9 Power (Species)
(Tier 2) Monster: 3 Power (Individual) / 4 Power (Group) / 5 Power (Species)
(Tier 1) Creature: 1 Power (Individual) / 2 Power (Group) / 3 Power (Species) / 5 Power (Many Species)
(Tier 4) Demi-God: 1 Ichor and 5 Power(Individual)
(Tier 3) Legend: 5 Power (Individual) / 7 Power (Group) / 9 Power(Species)
(Tier 2) Hero: 3 Power (Individual) / 4 Power (Group) / 5 Power (Species)
(Tier 1) Mortal: 1 Power (Individual) / 2 Power (Group) / 3 Power (Species) / 5 Power (Many Species)
Artifacts:
Mystical objects which defies all rules that should apply to the World. The possibilities are infinite, and some can be so powerful that even the Gods fear them.
Artifacts generate temporary Chaos when they are used. This temporary Chaos lasts two turns, generally.
A Divine Artifact generates 1 temporary Chaos. Several generate at least 2 temporary Chaos.
Several Legendary Artifacts generate 1 temporary Chaos. Countless generate 2 temporary Chaos.
Countless Heroic/Magic Artifacts generate 1 temporary Chaos.
(Tier 4) Divine Artifact: 1 Ichor and 5 Power (Unit) / 3 Ichor and 10 Power (Several)
(Tier 3) Legendary Artifact: 5 Power (Unit) / 7 Power (Several) / 9 Power (Enough to outfit an army)
(Tier 2) Heroic Artifact: 3 Power (Unit) / 4 Power (Several) / 5 Power (Enough to outfit an army)
(Tier 1) Magic Artifact: 1 Power (Unit) / 2 Power (Several) / 3 Power (Enough to outfit an army)
Laws:
Words of the Gods given power over the World. They dictate how reality will work, and are absolute. They do not affect Divine beings and above.
There are three classes of Laws.
Absolute Law (T4): Can be resisted by Tier 4 Entities.
Greater Law (T3): Can be resisted by Tier 3 Entities. Do not affect Tier 4 Entities.
Lesser Law (T2): Can be resisted by Tier 2 Entities. Do not affect Tier 3+ Entities.
Absolute Laws override Greater and Lesser Laws, and Greater Laws override Lesser Laws. In case of opposition from two laws of the same tier, they apply randomly over their target area in an equal manner, like mixing oil and water.
Laws costing over 5 Power generate 1 temporary Chaos upon creation.
They will also passively generate 1 Chaos.
Base Cost
Absolute Law: 3 Power
Greater Law: 2 Power
Lesser Law: 1 Power
Range Modifier
Over the Cosmos: +6 Power
Over a Divine World: +4 Power
Over several Lesser Worlds: +3 Power
Over a Lesser World/several Regions: +2 Power
Over a Region/several Locations: +1 Power
Over a Location: 0 Power
Alteration is the act of working on an existing entity to create a new one, or change it in other ways.
Alteration generates less temporary Chaos than pure Creation.
Altering Creations (except Laws):
- Alteration is 1 Power cheaper than Creating.
- Alteration is 1 temporary Chaos cheaper than Creating.
Altering Laws:
- Alteration of a Law is 2 Power cheaper for its creator.
- Alteration of a Law is 2 Power more expensive for anyone else.
- A Law does not change creator if it is altered.
Destruction is the act of erasing all traces of an entity from existence.
There are two types of Destruction attempts: True Destruction, and Partial Destruction.
True Destruction does not generate temporary Chaos, and can only be attempted by Gods or above.
Partial Destruction may generate temporary Chaos. Partial Destruction may fail to completely remove all traces from a group or species, leaving survivors.
Non Gods can attempt to destroy, and for the sake of Destruction have the following maximum Power available.
Tier 4: 5 + 2 per additional T4
Tier 3: 3 + 1 per group size
Tier 2: 1 + 1 per group size
Tier 1: 0 + 1 per group size
Meaning:
Tier Unit Group Army
4 5
3 3 4 5
2 2 3 4
1 1 2 3
0 0 1 2
True Destruction costs:
Destroy a Tier 4 Entity: 10P
Destroy a Tier 3 Entity: 6P (unit) / 8P (group) / 10P (species)
Destroy a Tier 2 Entity: 2P (unit) / 3P (group) / 4P (species)
Destroy a Tier 1 Entity: 0P (unit) / 0P (group) / 1P (species) / 3P (many species)
Destroy an Absolute Law: Law cost + 6P
Destroy a Greater Law: Law cost + 4P
Destroy a Lesser Law: Law cost + 2P
Partial Destruction costs: (C = temporary Chaos)
Partially Destroy a Tier 4 Entity: 8P + 2C
Partially Destroy a Tier 3 Entity: 4P + 1C (unit) / 6P + 1C (group) / 8P + 2C (species)
Partially Destroy a Tier 2 Entity: 1P (unit) / 2P (group) / 3P + 1 C (species)
Partially Destroy a Tier 1 Entity: 0P (unit) / 0P (group) / 0P (species) / 2P (many species)
Partially Destroy an Absolute Law: Law cost + 4P + 2 temporary Chaos
Partially Destroy a Greater Law: Law cost + 2P + 1 temporary Chaos
Partially Destroy a Lesser Law: Law cost + 1 temporary Chaos
Combat
When two entities are involved in a conflict, dice are rolled to determine its outcome. Most battles will be non lethal. Probably.
Entities have two attributes. Vitality and Combat Potential.
Vitality represents their life force, having 0 Vitality means a being is dead.
Combat Potential represents the overall ability of the being to fight. Bonuses and maluses will apply depending on the circumstances.
By default, entities have the following attributes:
(Tier 1) Creatures, Lesser Servants: 1 Vitality, 1 Combat Potential
(Tier 2) Heroes, Monsters, Servants: 2 Vitality, 2 Combat Potential
(Tier 3) Champions, Greater Monsters/Servants: 3 Vitality, 4 Combat Potential
(Tier 4) Avatars, Ascendants, Aspects: 5 Vitality, 6 Combat Potential
In the case of Gods, Ichor is used instead of Vitality. They can't be damaged without Divine powers.
The base Combat Potential of a God is 7.
Artifacts are the main mean of improving a being's attributes. Typically, a combat-grade Artifact will grant the following bonuses:
(Tier 1) Magic Artifact: +1 Combat Potential
(Tier 2) Heroic Artifact: +2 Combat Potential
(Tier 3) Legendary Artifact: +3 Combat Potential
(Tier 4) Divine Artifact: +5 Combat Potential
A battle is made up of rounds, during which dice are rolled.
Advantage Roll:
First is rolled the advantage, to see which entity has an edge in the round.
To that end, the involved entities roll a die equal to their Combat Potential. The highest results wins, and will cause their battle roll to be doubled. A tie grants no bonus to anyone.
Battle Roll:
Next are rolled the battle rolls, to which is added the total Combat Potential of the entities. Every 5 points of Combat Potential grants an additional d10 to the battle roll. The highest results win, and damage is applied to the loser.
Damage:
Vitality: To calculate damage inflicted, the previous final results are divided and then rounded down.
Ichor: Ichor damage is capped at 1 multiplied by the potential sources of divine damage.
Example:
A God counts as 1 source of divine damage. A lone God cannot inflict more than 1 Ichor damage per turn.
A God with a Divine Artifact can inflict 2 Ichor damage per turn, as the Divine Artifact counts as a source of divine damage.
*** Sheets and Templates ***
Name: What is your Name?
Physical Description: What do you look like?
Personality: If you have one.
Sphere: What is your sphere of influence? Will determine the flavour of your Acts.
Backstory: How did you end up here? Feel free to be creative.
Use the following templates to make it a bit easier for me to process your actions
Name is self-explanatory.
Class/Tier and such is described in the price sheet.
Description is there for you to tell us what does the creation looks like, how it acts, etc... It's important flavor so that we all know how it operates.
Qualities/Traits are quite important, as they add a bit of uniqueness to your creation. Qualities/Traits will be taken into account in a lot of things, so it is good to have the important, essential things in there. Try not to add a ton of these though, it's not really necessary and could actually lead to me forgetting some of these.
As for laws, in Target write what is affected by the Law. And then in Effects what it does.
Artifact Template:
Name:
Class:
Description:
Qualities:
-
-
...
Species Template:
Species Name:
Tier:
Description:
Traits:
-
-
...
Servant Template:
Name:
Class:
Description:
Traits:
-
-
...
Landmark Template:
Name:
Type:
Description:
Law Template:
Name:
Class:
Target:
Effects: