Elder Scrolls Godbound
The world is broken.
When the Nerevarine, prophesied reincarnation of the ancient hero Nerevar, returned from Red Mountain, he came with fire and sword, wielding a terrible new magic called theurgy. Some say he learned it at the feet of Dagoth Ur, others from the very Heart of Lorkhan itself. In either case, he threw the Empire from the shores of Vvardenfell.
Quickly he built an army, made up of fierce Dunmer warriors and imposing bronze golems. He invaded the mainland province of Morrowind, the legions stationed there falling before the might of the Nerevarine.
The fall of Morrowind shattered the Empire’s faith, but it was the Oblivion Crisis that killed it. Perhaps by scrambling to find an answer to the Neverarine’s power, the Empire itself caused the gates to Oblivion to open. These gates sprang up across Tamriel, disgorging hordes of daedra, killing or enslaving all those they came across.
Unable to rely on the Empire for protection, each province had to deal with this crisis on their own, sending whole companies of soldiers through these gates in hopes of closing them.
However, the Empire had indeed discovered how to use theurgy, and so the gates to Oblivion soon became opportunities to those who knew how to wield this High Magic. The Psijic Order came to the aid of the Summerset Isles with their own knowledge of this terrible art, and so the Aldmeri Dominion was reborn.
With the art of theurgy, these gates became an opportunity for plunder, and unimaginable wealth and power flowed to those who could master them. The Daedra stopped their invasions, and tried to close the gates, but the High Mages were able to reopen them at will. It became a time of abundance, for now the powers of creation were wielded and the unimaginable was now possible.
Then the Champion of Cyrodiil slew Sheogorath, the Daedric Prince of Madness, and mantled their power.
Now there was a race, to supplant the very Gods themselves. This Race for the Thrones soon became a war, on Tamriel and on the planes of the Daedra, as the Aldmeri Dominion, the Empire, and Kingdom of Morrowind clashed and fought to amass the most power.
When the last Daedra God was mantled, their greed and desire for power led them to breach the very Halls of Aetherius. War continued even here, in paradise itself from which all magic flowed. Here they discovered the engines of creation, maintaining Mundis and Nirn itself. Did they pause in their haste and lust for power, to consider the consequences?
No.
They looted the engines of the other planets and realms first, forging new Gods and Daedra for themselves. They found other worlds, some terrible, some wonderful, and others very similar to their own. They looted those too.
Then of course they scavenged the engines supporting the lands of their enemies on Tamriel.
Chaos rocked the land as droughts, disease, earthquakes and other disasters shook the land, even as war continued to rage.
There wasn’t a climactic final battle, just conflict petering out as the empires collapsed on themselves, as their domains in Oblivion and Aetherius stopped supporting them, as darkness crept across the lands.
As for the High Mages and the Mantled Gods?
They killed each other, gorging on endless power and avarice, destroying all around them. The surviving Aedra swore vengeance and fled. The Empire, Dominion and Kingdom are gone, their masters absconded into Aetherius or Oblivion, dead or too ascended to care. What was once one Empire has splintered into a hundred petty kingdoms, and monsters and more plague the lands.
Sithis, the eternal night, plagues the sea and sky. The very moons in the sky are shattered. The world is broken.
But maybe, it can be saved.
Welcome to Elder Scrolls Godbound, where you take up the shards of divinity to reshape the world. The Gods are dead or usurped, mantled by the ambitious and the mad. The Aedra and their servants have sworn to see the mortal races consigned to Oblivion and start anew in the world of Nirn.
You play as a mortal, blessed with a shard of the Heart of Lorkhan, giving you control over a few Words of creation that give you miraculous power. Even now you have enough power to sweep away most mortal opposition, and one day you will challenge the very Gods themselves.
This game will run based on the
RPG Godbound, made by Kevin Crawford and the rules can be found for free over on Drivethrurpg (and probably other stores). A guide to character creation can be found there. The game will be set in an alternate Elder Scrolls universe, adjusted to fit into the Godbound setting a bit more.
This is going to be a Sandbox game, driven by the player’s goals. While there will be threats and quests for you to go on, ideally most adventures will be driven by the PC’s. So when designing a potential character, give them goals and ideals that they would strive for, even if it is unrealistic or impossible. You are Godbound, anything can be achieved given enough time and power.
That being said, do try to not make completely clashing characters. You will be part of a pantheon together, and while you can disagree, your character should not want to stop on your fellow Godbound’s castles, or subvert them to their own purposes. You will work as part of a team.
You can build incredible marvels, form societies that loves truth and mercy, and perform awe-inspiring miricles. You will punch terrible monsters in the face and topple kings and empires. Your character's will is what will drive the game forward.
I’m also not here to make value judgements on ways of governing, as Godbound you could make any system of governance work for you, with the proper investing of your Dominion or Influence. If you argue “My hyper-capitalist system I developed should clearly outperform others, I don’t need to invest my Dominion/Influence anymore,” I would tell you that your community will begin to revert back to its original state, or corruption will begin to set in as the world reasserts itself. If you want to ensure that something lasts for a long-time, you will have to invest the resources. I'll make you pay the cost, but I want to encourage you to build and support cool stuff.
I won’t stat out every spell from Elder Scrolls you could use, but you could probably use any spell in the games in this one without too much issue. It will be your responsibility to convert it into the Godbound rules if needed. (As in how much damage you expect it to do, other effects. It won't need to be a whole production.)
Enchanted items will be mostly considered to be minor magic artifacts, which Godbound are too powerful to get proper benefits from.
This will be the Chubby-Verse elder scrolls, based on a combination of lore and game experience. Your idea of Elder Scrolls might be different from mine, and mine might be different from the “official lore”. You can let me know, and offer suggestions (and I will welcome that!) Just be prepared that I might differ in some cases.
Below is a character sheet I typed out. Follow the character creation guide in the book, feel free to roll or use the predetermined stat allocation.
Character Sheet
Name:
Description:
Goal:
Attributes
Attribute: Score/+Modifier/Check
Strength:0/ +0/ 0
Dexterity:0/ +0/ 0
Constitution:0/ +0/ 0
Wisdom:0/ +0/ 0
Intelligence:0/ +0/ 0
Charisma:0/ +0/ 0
Saving Throws
Attribute: Base/-Modifier/+Armor Penalty=Final
Hardiness:0/-0+0=0
Evasion:0/-0+0=0
Spirit:0/-0+0=0
Hit Points: Current/Max
AC:
Armor:
Savings Throws Penalty:
Base Attack Bonus:
Weapons:
Fray Die: 1d8
Resources
Effort: Free/Max (Example 2/2 if you are not using any, ½ if you are currently spending 1 Effort)
Influence: Free/Max
Dominion: Free
Wealth:
Facts
Origin: (Good point to put your Elder Scrolls race)
Past Career: (Can be a part of a guild, if a mage can choose up to one Elder Scrolls school of magic to know)
Relationship:
Words:
Gifts:
Here is a quick list of words you can reference. For full descriptions and gifts, refer to the rulebook. If you have an idea for a certain word that doesn’t appear on this list, you can make your own word. Refer to the rules for creating new powers, and we can work together to make it fit.
Alacrity :Agility and swiftness in motion
Artifice :Building, repairing, and destroying objects
Beasts :Command and transformation of beasts
Bow :Ranged combat and impossible accuracy
Command :Leadership, rule, and enforced obedience
Death :Undead, death, and the dying
Deception :Trickery, stealth, illusion, and lies
Earth :Stone, strength, soil, and obdurate hardness
Endurance :Tireless vigor and scorn for injury
Fertility :Plants and growth both unnatural and normal
Fire :Heat, smoke, light, fury and lust
Health : Vigor, healing, and the command of disease
Journeying : Swift, unhindered travel over far distances
Knowledge : Knowledge both mundane and supernatural
Luck: The having and giving of luck good and bad
Might: Raw strength and its use in tremendous deeds
Night: Darkness, sleep, night-passage and dreams
Passion: Emotion, devotion, grudges, and yearnings
Sea: Water, seas, rivers, sea-beasts, and purification
Sky: Weather, lightning, flight, and winds
Sorcery: Initiation into theurgic spellcasting
Sun: Light, vision, truth, heat and banishing
Sword: Melee combat and unarmed struggles
Time: Prophecy, postcognition, and time-weaving
Wealth: Money, prosperity, and abundant goods
In the lonely north, on the outskirts of the Empire, lies Helgen, once an important fortress protecting the trade between nations, now an outpost of a dwindling garrison. In the dungeons beneath the frozen ground, lies prisoners of uncertain fate and fortune, drawn together for unknown purposes. After a Dragon attacks the keep, the prisoners find a power unlocking within themselves, a power that they could have barely imagined. So create your character, if this sounds interesting to you. Ideally it would be one that fits in the elder scrolls universe, but we can work out special characters. You’ll start in Skyrim, in the dungeons of Helgen, a lonely outpost at the edge of the Empire’s reach. So include a bit about how you ended up in this situation. Maybe it was some injustice that you were imprisoned for, or you were in the wrong place at the wrong time. Or perhaps you were a criminal or a bandit.
However, while you start in Skyrim, land of Nordic kings fighting against the ancient ravenous dragons and their undead legions, you are not bound there. The whole of Tamriel is yours to roam, and even other worlds are not out of reach.
You do not need to be super familiar to the Elder Scrolls setting to play this game. Main goal is to have fun and a good time, I'm not aiming to be super-lore compliant or anything.
Character sheets will be selected based on a combination of interesting characters and a mix of Words represented. Previous players of mine will be given preference. I’ll take a max of 6-8 players, though you may be added to a waitlist if we end up doing a player expansion.
Let me know if you have any questions!
Elder Scrolls Godbound IC