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  • Locked thread
Shogeton
Apr 26, 2007

"Little by little the old world crumbled, and not once did the king imagine that some of the pieces might fall on him"

Rauri posted:

You'll get some of those that don't stick around as ghosts, anyways.

Ugh. Ghosts. Entirely unacceptable. Every last mortal soul needs his judgement and well-deserved fate afterwards. It is simply not just for souls to escape their fate like that. I should call on someone for this. But who am I gonna call?

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Puppies are dicks
Jan 31, 2011

WHY YOU GOTTA BREAK A BROS HEART

HiKaizer posted:

Only half? If I get in I'd have lost 4/5ths of my people! Half is pretty light going for this Fimbulvinter as Puppies has described it.

And that's discounting the ones that have apparently been regressed into some sort of freaky Dwarf-rodent atavistic hybrid form and are now busy tunneling up away from the worse things in the dark!

But yeah if you want to write in that your point of origin as a Goldilocks climate/the last to feel the chill honestly that's fine. Just putting it on the table here in advance to avoid surprises about why the hell there are all these motherfucking snakes on this goddamn plane. :drat: You take that jam and you run with it as far as it's worth. (the place you're running to is an icy grave with Mad Max hordes popping up like herpes along the way)

HiKaizer
Feb 2, 2012

Yes!
I finally understand everything there is to know about axes!

Puppies are dicks posted:

And that's discounting the ones that have apparently been regressed into some sort of freaky Dwarf-rodent atavistic hybrid form and are now busy tunneling up away from the worse things in the dark!

There may have been some initial failed attempts before Vendruck got things right. Some of them might have been left to die in the deep depths and, well, didn't. But that's just conjecture and myth that heretics whisper in the dark. Any faithful follower or true Dwarf would never be swayed by such tales.

Deadmeat5150
Nov 21, 2005

OLD MAN YELLS AT CLAN
I honestly created this god with every expectation of losing people horrible because he didn't see it coming. I even expect a domain shift of some sort.

Puppies are dicks
Jan 31, 2011

WHY YOU GOTTA BREAK A BROS HEART
So then the answer to my question about how the Lorax survived/whether he's been laying in nuts for the winter is... he didn't/probably won't? That's certainly A Strategy. :p

Deadmeat5150
Nov 21, 2005

OLD MAN YELLS AT CLAN
He's planted nuts like a psychotic sabertoothed squirrel. :v:

Deadmeat5150
Nov 21, 2005

OLD MAN YELLS AT CLAN
Alright I gave it momentary thought and decided that he hated those other pretentious docks enough that he just chills in his capital city. The main temple has a bigass throne just for him.

Puppies are dicks
Jan 31, 2011

WHY YOU GOTTA BREAK A BROS HEART
Works just as well I suppose. If you look at pretty much everybody else's backstory it's been a bad week for Gods from places ranging from Everywhere Else to all the way down to Not From Here. Those other guys probably just froze to death violently/rapidly or ate each other because they suck.

On an unrelated note there's been a substantially more interest in this game than I expected. I'd really hate to blueball people who've been champing at the bit for two weeks or disappoint someone for the same, and in the interests of not having way more entries than I know what to do with I am :siren:revising the deadline to Sunday 23 November 7:00 PM GMT for character entries.:siren:

Anyone who misses the deadline or doesn't get picked is of course free to hang around and read along in the expectation that people will drop the game/wander off. This is SA so afaik it's pretty no harm, no foul that people disappear without warning or otherwise and need to be replaced.

OscarDiggs
Jun 1, 2011

Those sure are words on pages which are given in a sequential order!

Puppies are dicks posted:

This is a really interesting choice OscarDiggs. It's a God of Rats only without specifically Rats. My first question then is will Piper probably eventually have broad multi-racial/cultural appeal so long as the children of those peoples he encounters join the Scurrying? Also just to make very sure, Piper is a gigantic horrible rodent right? That has no problems with eating people on the regular, frozen or otherwise?

Generally speaking joining the Scurrying isn't really a necessity, it's more of a last resort/emergency button for those with no other option sacrificing your life as it was to survive the here and now; your body can survive, but your mind won't be with you on the other side. But yeah, the option is available to anyone and if you somehow get stuck in the deep roads, it very quickly becomes the only choice anyone gets. Aside from that though, Piper is the god of the survivor and the scavenger from creepy, mutant kids to highwayman and raiders to refugees and those who have lost everything. You’ve got examples of each (or will have examples soon enough, in the case of mutant kids) from every culture and race out there so there will be appeal to a lot of groups, from utter bastards to regular folk who just want their families to be okay. If okay means rat monster, well ordinary folks have made much worse choices for the sake of survival. Piper also has a bit of a soft spot for kids and younger people, so they're a bit more likely to get the “gift”.

Yes, Piper is a huge rat monster who would eat pretty much anything or anyone if it came down to it, but the emphasis is on rat here. When you've got food in front of you, why bother trying to hunt something? When there's plenty for all, why go the effort of keeping everything for yourself? Why leave your nice, warm rat hole when you've got no reason to? Piper and his Children want to be fat, content and lazy and the last 2 follow on from the first. As rats/monsters they have a few more options when it comes to food (more then a lot of other groups surviving the great freeze, at any rate) so there's a very real sense of “Why bother?” when it comes down to food that fights back. However, if the answer to that is “Because we're hungry!” then some folks are probably going to get eaten. But again, options for those groups exist as well; with the current death rate, not every spare corpse if going to become an undead and those bodies are not going to dispose of themselves. Piper is very much a live and let eat type of god.

TychoBrahesNose
May 24, 2011
"Vicissitude"

When the First Words were uttered out of the primeval Chaos, even then the First Lie lay hidden within.



Trickster Spirit (+4):
I am Anansi. I am Hanuman. I am Elegua and his shadow Eshu. I am Bamapana and Bluetongue Lizard and Crow. I am Iktomi and Nanabozho and Kokopelli, Coyote and Raven. I am Hermes and Mercury and Prometheus, Dionysus and Pan, Hippomenes and Orpheus and Teiresias. I am Kitsune and Kappa and Tanuki and Susano-o. I am Set. I am Loki. I am The Mirror held before the faces of Men and Gods to humble them and show them their folly.

By word or action, the Trickster can cause both men and gods to believe the lies within their own hearts and minds. He (she?) can make things to appear as they are not, and he himself can appear in any form he desires. Some question whether the Trickster has any true form at all.

Some things he can do:
He can create illusions. He can shapeshift. He can talk anyone into believing anything, especially when they want it -- and sometimes, even when they don't. He can convince a freezing man to give up his cloak, and leave him smiling while he does it.

Inbetween All Realms (+2) (+4):
I stand where all paths are joined: between here and there, between the past and the future, between the living and the dead. In the space between heartbeats, I can simply be where the point of my enemy's spear is not -- or I can be on the far side of the world. I know the tongues of all men, for I hear all of their prayers, though in the past few would bestir themselves to pray to me directly. I am the Door through which all souls pass from eternity and to eternity.

He is the God of the Crossroads, able to walk any path to any destination he desires. As the gatekeeper and the conduit between the many pantheons of deities and their followers among the mortals, he normally has few devotees himself. Nevertheless, he receives the pleas and prayers of all, carrying the gods' replies (few and far between though they may be) to their followers in turn. He is also responsible for delivering the souls of the newly formed into their mortal bodies, and he is likewise responsible for delivering the souls of the newly dead to the Underworld.

Some things he can do:
He can avoid physical harm, and slip out of any sticky situation (most likely this also falls under the penumbra of his Trickster Spirit Quality). He can move at the Speed of Plot by some unspecified divine means. He can understand and communicate with any and every being that has a language, no matter how primitive. He can hear (though generally he does not respond to) the prayers offered to any and all deities. He has dominion over souls passing from one stage of existence to the next. He brings fecundity to existing life (but he does not create new life), and he shepherds the souls of the dead to their appointed afterlife (Is that Judgement? Heaven? Hell? I suppose that depends on which Gods remain!). He does not oversee the judging, rewards, or punishment of the afterlife himself -- however, if he were so inclined, he would not be above tricking the more arrogant among the gods out of their "deserved" prize of some soul or other…

Everything New Under the Sun (+2):
I am the God of the Past Becoming the Future. I am the Web spun over the world -- whether men call it Dreaming, or Medicine, or Magic, or Technology, I am the Source from which men drink when they desire new experiences, new wisdom, or clever solutions to their dilemmas. Sometimes, however, when a man does not have eyes to see, the knowledge he gains does not benefit him as he might imagine.

He is the indifferent arbiter of blind chance that underlies many changes; but even moreso, he is the god of Progress. Responsible for the intellectual as well as the physical fecundity of mortals, he is the unseen (and often unacknowledged) patron of those undertaking novel pursuits, especially of the artistic or scientific sort. He is the one who, unasked, brought Fire to men, and first taught them the arts of sorcery and healing -- much to the consternation of many of the other gods, who (as a rule) selfishly wanted to keep such gifts for themselves, and wanted men dependent on the divine instead of their own abilities. After all, men who die (or are afraid to die) belong to the gods, but for as long as they are in the mortal realm (and believe they will stay there), they are their own creatures.

Some things he can do:
This Quality is more of a situational wildcard than a specific capability. He is never at a loss in any new situation. He can roll with the punches. If anyone can figure out a way for the men and their gods to survive and thrive in the wake of the Fimbulwinter, it is him.


Spirit of Chaos (-2):
I am the pangs of fate. I am the roll of the dice, the one who brings fortune and ruin. I turn darkness into light, and I turn light into darkness. By me men see the path ahead, but when they grow haughty, I cause them to stumble. Whether life or death or the moments that occur between, all is nought but a fleeting story, far too insignificant a detail to be taken seriously.

In keeping with his Trickster nature, he is a force for Chaos, unpredictable and irresponsible. He takes little seriously, and he is not commonly trusted, especially by those who have fallen victim to his schemes previously. If he is emotionally constrained or physically restricted in his freedom of movement, he will rebel and seek to change his circumstances at the first opportunity. To the extent that he thinks of others, he expects them to have the same viewpoint.

Some thing he cannot do:
He cannot easily be trusted; if some being is foolish enough to try, he will soon disabuse that one that he is worthy of such trust. He cannot be made to see the gravity of most situations -- though if anything in his long existence might merit his sober reflection, it would be the cataclysm of Fimbulwinter. He cannot connect too deeply with any individual, nor can he stay in one place for too long.

Without Light, There Are No Shadows (-2):
Where there is no truth, lies lose their power. Where there are no men, there are no prayers or sacrifices to carry to the gods, and no souls to bring to birth or to final judgement. Where there are no Gatherings of Men, there can be no Outcasts. Where there is no change, only undifferentiated sameness, there I am not.

As the Space Between All Beings, where there are no relationships, there he cannot exist. He is outside of all societies, but ironically reliant on them for his existence. Though he cannot settle down, he likewise cannot be separate from all others for too long, or his strength begins to wane.

Some things he cannot do:
Most of his divine attributes require another sentient being to interact with. If men or gods die out completely, there will be no need for one possessed of his divine powers and responsibilities, and he would be bereft of purpose -- if not existence. Likely such limitations will begin to affect him even before such an extreme circumstance comes to pass. Furthermore, though he can (and does, when it proves necessary) shapeshift into a creature that can withstand cold to some extent, he cannot beguile a glacier into retreating, nor badger the wind into abating. Ravenous, scurrying rat gods and enormous phallic towers of all-consuming flesh may be above (or beneath) his reach, but he has not (yet) had occasion to find out.


In-game additions:
Leader (+2), replacement for Everything New Under the Sun
Protector of Mortals (-2), replacement for Without Light, There Are No Shadows
Warden of Hell (+4) (+2), established by transfer of power from Parelle, and the joining of a Pantheon.
Larissa's Folly: Expendable +2 Upshift vs. undead followers of Larissa Used.
Cock Blocker: Expendable +2 Upshift in combat vs. Isath
Cold-Resistant Divine Fruit for removing the Curse of Sloth, thanks to Cadenza
Bold: Expendable +2 Upshift to use of Leader Used.
Far-Seeing Eye +2 thanks to Isath

Allies:
"The Family": Vicissitude, Parelle, Vendruck, Reggie, Cadenza, and Pirsuq make a Pantheon +4
Thrym: GUARDIAN OF COCYTUS +12/-4 VENGEFUL GREED
HellHounds x3: +2 HOUND OF HELL/-2 PACK INSTINCTS; additional +2 Hound of Hell from Pack (Pantheon)

Artifact: Trickster's Mask +4, Reflection of Divine Essence +4/Mirror Without Reflection -2:

Created by Belet-Seri in Thaisaidain from her own divine power and seeded with the essence of Larissa, Queen of the Undead and Malador, Warden of Hell, the Mask amplifies Vicissitude's Trickster Spirit powers. The mask isn't very useful on its own without a God to mimic/reflect in the first place, and as a tool of disguise it doesn't convey the ability of another God per se so much as the appearance. When used to mimic the power of a God whose essence has been incorporated into it (currently Larissa and Malador), Reflection of Divine Essence also functions.
Parelle's essence has been obtained by Vicissitude as well, but not yet and incorporated into the Mask. Reflection of Divine Essence is non-functional until the mask is repaired.

Artifact: Soul Seal +4/Hungry for Souls -2 (25,000 incorporeal souls)

Created by Vicissitude in response to the need for a soul repository in the wake of Hell's unmaking, the artifact draws the essence of the mortal dead to it, and can store them (and their AP) until a more permanent fate is decreed for each individual.

----



I possess no land to watch over, and I have no people who call me their own. I stand alone alongside all the other children of the Creator. Yet when Fimbulwinter came and some even among the immortal gods ceased to be, I began to receive supplications from those who desired change in their world. First the men of the North, who sailed upon their Dragons. And then the Skraelings of the Wooded Lands. But then, like a raging inferno of newly-discovered piety, men from every corner of the Earth began to lift their hands to me -- whether they knew a name for me or not. From the trackless wilderness to the rude hovel to the grandiose palace, whether he was crusted in filth or bedecked in jewels, he sought the face that had been hidden from him since before eternity began, in order to regain even some small measure of control over the course of Change. With certainty, there was change aplenty and upheaval everywhere as societies collapsed and cities were reduced to lifeless rubble beneath the advancing glaciers. But those who for the first time sought me out directly wanted a different sort of change, one that would not lead to their imminent demise. Slowly, slowly I began to listen to the prayers that were uttered, and through the strength of such devotion -- opportunistic and desperate as it was -- my will was fortified against the cold, and I was roused to action.
But still, men (and even hardier things) are dying like flies as the hoarfrost settles over more and more of the world. And so, although it might offer temporary respite, I will not sit by the Hearth as it grows cold and lifeless. I will not drink and make merry in golden towers as the Ice bears down upon me to grind my bones to powder. I will not flee to the dark places and cower among the sightless and the hopeless. I will tread upon the earth, and under the earth, and even through the gates of Hell itself if need be. From beyond the north to the farthest reaches of the south I shall wander, striding through the last of the great Fortresses of men and riding across the frigid plains with the nomads of the Empire. And when the sun rises over the cold and desolate lands, I shall chase it from the east until it wearies of its race in the west. And I will come to know that which neither man nor god has perceived before:
why?

TychoBrahesNose fucked around with this message at 00:23 on Mar 22, 2016

Puppies are dicks
Jan 31, 2011

WHY YOU GOTTA BREAK A BROS HEART

That's a very thoroughly written and informative entry. Having read through it I do have the following questions-

How did the Trickster survive the Ice? One theory for why so many of the Gods have been snuffed is that due to massive population die offs and the fact that pacts of nonaggression and assistance forced many to attempt standing against or repelling the Ice, which led to widespread pantheocide as they all lined up to try to chain push the Icewall and the wall won. Being the Trickster of a thousand faces, does that mean your God was called upon by all the Gods he at least casually knew from those disparate mythologies and did nothing? In the least it looks to me like you'd take the smart move of fleeing outright any time it looks too dangerous and pulled all the dirty tricks out of the bag in order to stay a step ahead. Running away is a perfectly valid survival strategy.

Could you rephrase Without Light, There Are No Shadows (-2)? I think I get what you're going for but as it is worded it might be a bit difficult to apply/use against you. Your other flaw is pretty easy to boil down and quantify as an X is weak against Y or avoids Z situations.


So then other than a tradeoff of rat-like resilience and willingness to eat flesh/garbage for intelligence, are the Scurrying really that different from their baseline origins? On the one hand, a rat-based survival strategy seems very effective because as smallish scavengers who cluster together for warmth and naturally dig burrows they're better predisposed to survive the Ice than most species, but on the other hand people-sized ratlings lose a lot of those advantages and have more complicated needs as their population scales upwards.

TychoBrahesNose
May 24, 2011
Puppies,

Thanks. Since lots of others had backstories and details not just for their Gods but for their People, whereas Vicissitude exists on the fringes of all societies rather than as a member of any, I figured I ought to put more effort into detailing his internal mindset and motivations.

Your questions are good ones, and exactly the things I've been thinking about since initially offering up my post. Basically, once Winter hit, Vicissitude did indeed stand alongside his fellow gods from across the Immortal Realms…for a time. The short-term spike in (at least foxhole-deep) devotion from mortals the world over fortified him against the Cold initially, but given how many corpses were piling up, their prayers freezing in their throats, he was soon well past Peak Worship (as was the case with most gods, whether they had a localized base of worship or not). And so when his brethren started being consumed by the Ice, he changed tactics rather rapidly. If any other gods did have the courage/stupidity to face down the Ice, and yet managed to survive, they will probably already know him to be unreliable -- and thus Spirit of Chaos can come into play in their very first in-game interactions. In any case, now he survives primarily by his wits and guile, hearth-hopping when he can, shapeshifting into a creature that can withstand a hostile climate when he can't, and traveling fast and far anytime the Cold threatens.

As far as Without Light, There Are No Shadows, I envision at least a few specific circumstances where it would come into play, from which you can probably extrapolate many more: if he sits in one place doing not much of anything for an extended period of time; if he ever comes to rely too heavily on another creature, mortal or divine; or alternately, if he spends too much time away from all of the remnants of humanity or divinity -- with an appropriate cover story to allay suspicion, he'd have the moxie to hang out even with the Devils in Hell, and yet he's uncomfortable going down into the basement alone for too long. And obviously he can't sweet-talk a glacier at all, but in borderline cases where the sentience of those he's trying to fool is up for debate (say he is trying to finagle some den space with the Scurrying children of the Rat God, or trying to avoid being consumed by the Hunrgy Hungry LighthouseFleshlight) maybe he does benefit from his Trickster Spirit Quality, but it is tempered by Without Light, There Are No Shadows, since those sorts of beings are not his "usual" marks.

If that's not sufficient for you, I'd be happy to flesh this out more, or listen to your ideas about how you could screw me over as well.

TychoBrahesNose fucked around with this message at 03:07 on Nov 21, 2014

OscarDiggs
Jun 1, 2011

Those sure are words on pages which are given in a sequential order!

Puppies are dicks posted:

So then other than a tradeoff of rat-like resilience and willingness to eat flesh/garbage for intelligence, are the Scurrying really that different from their baseline origins? On the one hand, a rat-based survival strategy seems very effective because as smallish scavengers who cluster together for warmth and naturally dig burrows they're better predisposed to survive the Ice than most species, but on the other hand people-sized ratlings lose a lot of those advantages and have more complicated needs as their population scales upwards.

Simply put, there is not much of a difference physically. A Scurrying version will be smaller and stockier, more hairy or furry, less erect when standing on 2 legs and more used to moving on all fours (think Gorillas). They'll also have a lot more options for food. There are a couple of important mental and social changes though.

The Scurrying are more bestial in nature, which is implied by the loss of intelligence, but in place of that they become more instinctual. If Piper had been a bird monster, his children would want to fly south for the winter. Bear monster children would start stocking up on fatty stuff and begin hibernating. You lose some of that higher level function, but gain instinctual knowledge and abilities. In an apocalypse scenario like this, a lot will die from the snap cold but a lot more will die from the total loss of infrastructure and the structures that made their modern life possible. Becoming one of the Scurrying means you no longer require those social structures; your human part, though it gave great advantages, can't help you anymore and might even be holding your survival back. And yes, being able to appreciate a good book, make a fine work of art or contemplate the futility of your own existence against the totality of the universe isn't that helpful when the only reason you haven’t frozen to death is because you've starved to death.

For the first Dwarves that became Pipers Children, this was compounded because they were children themselves. If Piper had come across a group of warriors or huntsman instead of youngsters, it's likely that such a group would never have been pushed into the dark necessity of consuming their friends and neighbours for survival. It's also possible that any future worshippers will refuse to join the Scurrying, which is fine. It's a choice that can be made and if it's not useful for your survival, why bother? Piper is all about survival; when one strategy fails then develop a new one, but don't waste your effort if the old one still works.

That's not to say the Scurrying are animals; there's no reason that in a thousand years time, if the Fimbulwinter ever ends, the Scurrying won't be on the forefront of cultural and intellectual improvement. It just won't happen anytime soon, what with the whole apocalypse thing. So yeah, as population increases there will likely be a few teething problems but show me a rat monster based civilisation that was perfect from day 1. However, there shouldn't be too many problems for quite a while. All of the Scurrying are Pipers children, all born from the same brood. If there had been multiple, disparate groups there would likely be a lot of infighting in the old tunnels but as they are a massive family unit, the Scurrying will put up with a lot more then the average rat or human would, especially since Daddy is a Divine now.

Pochoclo
Feb 4, 2008

No...
Clapping Larry
I just noticed that my god is a giant phallus and that my domains spell out "fleshlight" and laughed like an idiot for minutes. I swear it was not intentional.

Deadmeat5150
Nov 21, 2005

OLD MAN YELLS AT CLAN

Pochoclo posted:

I just noticed that my god is a giant phallus and that my domains spell out "fleshlight" and laughed like an idiot for minutes. I swear it was not intentional.

I thought that was intential. It's even funnier to me now.

Puppies are dicks
Jan 31, 2011

WHY YOU GOTTA BREAK A BROS HEART
Wait seriously it wasn't? I need to reevaluate everything I was thinking about your character. I've been referring to it as "Evil Fleshlight" in my notes. :crossarms:

Anyway on to non-marital aid related business,

TychoBrahesNose posted:

As far as Without Light, There Are No Shadows, I envision at least a few specific circumstances where it would come into play, from which you can probably extrapolate many more: if he sits in one place doing not much of anything for an extended period of time; if he ever comes to rely too heavily on another creature, mortal or divine; or alternately, if he spends too much time away from all of the remnants of humanity or divinity -- with an appropriate cover story to allay suspicion, he'd have the moxie to hang out even with the Devils in Hell, and yet he's uncomfortable going down into the basement alone for too long. And obviously he can't sweet-talk a glacier at all, but in borderline cases where the sentience of those he's trying to fool is up for debate (say he is trying to finagle some den space with the Scurrying children of the Rat God, or trying to avoid being consumed by the Hunrgy Hungry Lighthouse) maybe he does benefit from his Trickster Spirit Quality, but it is tempered by Without Light, There Are No Shadows, since those sorts of beings are not his "usual" marks.

Well when you put it like that it's almost the case that your God is codependent with other deities to play off of isn't it? Thinking about it that way clears it up for me quite a bit and is amusing to boot.

Now for today's science fact! :science:

Due to the effects of glaciation, significant portions of the North American continent have evolved ecosystems without the presence of earthworms. The glaciers, not only having churned up the soil deeply enough to root out all life at multiple points in the past also created an environment of permafrost that killed everything straight down a ways into icy dead mush. The northern forests, having adapted to such a biome, are now under threat from the invasion of non-native (European) earthworm species which drastically disrupt the way that nutrients and water moves through the system and into the groundwater.

http://books.google.com/books?id=7m...glacier&f=false

Forging forward OscarDiggs, then basically the Scurrying are a standard mortal race with +2 Instinctive Animals/-2 Instinctive Animals traits which effectively balances out to 0. They don't necessarily breed any faster than their baseline counterparts (in fact several social animal species practice their own very effective and mostly instinct-based form of population/birth control in famine situations), are not necessarily stronger or tougher, and might have lost enough intelligence that at the present default state they barely count as sentient. They can talk (probably communicate more through nonverbally), work out or perform complex tasks if directed, but have much more of their brains rewired towards survival instincts than pretty much everything else?

TychoBrahesNose
May 24, 2011

Puppies are dicks posted:

…codependent...

Yeah, codependent is a perfect description. Actually, I noticed that some of the scenarios I laid out are more appropriate for Spirit of Chaos (that's what I get for writing my reply at 4 AM). But I think that also highlights how interwoven his two negative Qualities are -- a lot of ways for him to avoid Spirit of Chaos would result in him running afoul of Without Light, There Are No Shadows, and vice versa. So walking the fine line between the two should be quite the challenge!

Pochoclo posted:

I just noticed that my god is a giant phallus and that my domains spell out "fleshlight" and laughed like an idiot for minutes. I swear it was not intentional.

My mind went to "giant glowing phallus" right away, but I also missed the double entendre in your domains until I was in a weird brain state (see above re: 4 AM). As a God of Fertility (sort of...) Vicissitude should definitely team up with the God of Oversized Sex Toys -- we'd be unstoppable!

Grey Hunter
Oct 17, 2007

Hero of the soviet union.
Accidental destroyer of planets

Pochoclo posted:

I just noticed that my god is a giant phallus and that my domains spell out "fleshlight" and laughed like an idiot for minutes. I swear it was not intentional.

Freud would say something about your subconscious here.....

OscarDiggs
Jun 1, 2011

Those sure are words on pages which are given in a sequential order!

Puppies are dicks posted:

Forging forward OscarDiggs, then basically the Scurrying are a standard mortal race with +2 Instinctive Animals/-2 Instinctive Animals traits which effectively balances out to 0. They don't necessarily breed any faster than their baseline counterparts (in fact several social animal species practice their own very effective and mostly instinct-based form of population/birth control in famine situations), are not necessarily stronger or tougher, and might have lost enough intelligence that at the present default state they barely count as sentient. They can talk (probably communicate more through nonverbally), work out or perform complex tasks if directed, but have much more of their brains rewired towards survival instincts than pretty much everything else?

Pretty much exactly; nothing has essentially been added, more morphed and replaced. Simple survival as a rat isn't the same as living as a human after all and though they may make it through the frost because of their sacrifice, it was still a pretty hard choice to make. And again, if in the future survival means geniuses, then strategies and changes will reflect that. If it means 20 foot tall lone wolves, then that’s what the scurrying will eventually become, if they can make such an extreme adaptation before whatever they were adapting to kills them. You could say it's a bit like evolution, but instead of it happening over successive generations, it's in the hands of a rat monster going “Yeah that’s good. We need a bit more of that. No, get rid of that. Okay, let's add that in somewhere.”

If we're talking in pluses and minuses, -2 Butchered Race was taken to reflect the broken nature of the Scurrying as they are now. I don't intend for them to stay that way for long, but at the moment they are little better then man-sized rats with opposable thumbs. If the various races are receiving positive and negative scores, should I change that weakness to keep the Scurrying balanced? I was thinking about changing a few bits anyway, is all.

Pochoclo posted:

I just noticed that my god is a giant phallus and that my domains spell out "fleshlight" and laughed like an idiot for minutes. I swear it was not intentional.

Well that meal is off the menu now...

Puppies are dicks
Jan 31, 2011

WHY YOU GOTTA BREAK A BROS HEART

OscarDiggs posted:

If we're talking in pluses and minuses, -2 Butchered Race was taken to reflect the broken nature of the Scurrying as they are now. I don't intend for them to stay that way for long, but at the moment they are little better then man-sized rats with opposable thumbs. If the various races are receiving positive and negative scores, should I change that weakness to keep the Scurrying balanced? I was thinking about changing a few bits anyway, is all.

Not unless you particularly want to. I'm reading -2 Butchered Race as a combination social modifier/sign that you're actually metaphysically tied to the wellbeing of your race. Like if Vendruck had +2 Dwarves/-2 Dwarves he'd passively shape the nature of the dwarves with his activities and vice versa, so a poison or meme specifically targeting Dwarves would prove particularly effective against him as well. Similarly concepts or behaviours foreign to Dwarves would also be subject to that Flaw, unless their character were to be fundamentally changed. As it stands your Flaw is a bit broader and imo more interesting than a straight racial modifier.

Deadmeat5150
Nov 21, 2005

OLD MAN YELLS AT CLAN
I have taken bureaucracy as a flaw. This is be fun.

Pochoclo
Feb 4, 2008

No...
Clapping Larry

Deadmeat5150 posted:

I have taken bureaucracy as a flaw. This is be fun.

Uh sorry but you can't just change your flaws like that. First you gotta sign up to the GRS (Godgame Regulatory Service) website with your SSN and send photo proof of id, then wait a period of 4-5 days until verified. Once you have a valid user, you can download the W-45 Flaw Alteration/Death Certificate Form. Be careful to check "flaw alteration" properly, I know a guy who's now legally dead because he used a worn out pen. Anyway, fill it out, then send it via physical mail to the GRS central offices. If everything goes fine, in 2-3 months you will have your flaw changed.

Speleothing
May 6, 2008

Spare batteries are pretty key.
Brother Yak


Brother Yak is a mighty warrior, who guards Sister Yak and Mother-To-All and keeps them entertained with his singing and dancing. He is beloved to his family, and without him they would be fearful. Once he leapt over the highest mountain in the world to show the demons of hate the enormity of his power, and once he ate a whole spicy-leaf bush to make Sister Yak laugh when she was sad and did not make milk. He loves all good people and he loves his friends, who were just as good as family to him. Sometimes before really big fights, his friends would tie ribbons around his horns and feet, and put a quilted cloak over his back, or during a strength contest they might give him a harness so he could pull a mountain instead of push it. But they all died in the frost or left when the harvests failed.

Every year, on the shortest night, Brother Yak would come through all the villages and paints the horns and tails of all the Yaks in red and blue stripes as a joke. Holding a paintbrush in his mouth! How could he do it in such little time? Everybody laughs and drinks and jokes and has feasts the next day! What fun it used to be before it got cold and people started dying of frost and the harvests failed.



Strength: [+4] What is the strongest animal? The wooly mammoth of course! But who animal uses his strength the best? Brother Yak. If you need a thing to be borne on a long journey or pushed and pulled to a hard place, he's the one to ask. And when things are getting a little too much, he can step back and think up a way to use his strength better instead of just pressing and pressing. He's never been bested in a contest or a fight, because the wooly mammoths and the elephants weren't clever enough or hard-working enough to overcome Brother Yak, and no small animals or demons can stand up to him.

Passion: [+4] Brother Yak loves everyone. Except the bad people and the demons of hate who try to destroy. He's passionate about fighting them! He's got a warm heart that can make anybody feel better. He loves to hear other people talk, and to help them out. He's so full of passion that he stayed warm even when everybody else got chilled. They all hugged to him to stay warm as long as they could, and he told jokes to make them happy.

Bullheaded: [-2] When Brother Yak gets an idea in his head, he doesn't change his mind easily. He keeps trying and trying long after he's made a fool of himself and trampled all over everything. But his friends still love him.

The Herd: [-2] Sister Yak died in the frost when she tried to carry new babies to all the good people. Mother-To-All is missing from the sky, she went to go find a new harvest that wouldn't wither in the cold. What is Brother Yak going to do without them? He's lost and lonely and doesn't have his other friends from the villages anymore, so now who is going to tie ribbons in his hair and fit him in his harness and armor?

Speleothing fucked around with this message at 02:26 on Nov 22, 2014

Puppies are dicks
Jan 31, 2011

WHY YOU GOTTA BREAK A BROS HEART

Speleothing posted:

Brother Yak

I... I can't find a single thing to question or comment on regarding this God. It's like the platonic ideal of a yak, only without the spitting, horrible lanolin grease, and yak-stench. (which I am assuming he has in divine quantities)

Deadmeat5150
Nov 21, 2005

OLD MAN YELLS AT CLAN
As long it he comes with a fine yak cheese and stiff fermented yak milk and blood, I'm good with it

TychoBrahesNose
May 24, 2011

Deadmeat5150 posted:

I have taken bureaucracy as a flaw. This is be fun.

Oh, bureaucrats -- Vicissitude has discovered the perfect method for dealing with them: change his shape so that he wears the face of their immediate supervisor, and then command them to violate all of their training and all of the rules that have been drilled into their sycophantic little skulls. Then stand back and laugh while the machinery of the state grinds to a halt and countless worker drones flounder in cognitive dissonance as their well-ordered system teeters on the brink of the abyss. Things are even simpler with armies. No need for arrogant posturing or "heroic" bloodlust -- just wear the face of the drummer or bugler, and signal a retreat at the most inopportune time.

Despite the rather…enthusiastic questioning put to his Signal Master, to this day the Smugfather still does not know who it was that sowed such confusion amongst the ranks of his (heretofore) conquering army that they experienced their only defeat on the battlefield in the last two thousand years.

Hope you don't mind me toying with your mythology a bit, Deadmeat.
And don't get me personally started on bureaucracy -- it's almost December and I still haven't received my tax refund from Uncle Sam.

Shogeton
Apr 26, 2007

"Little by little the old world crumbled, and not once did the king imagine that some of the pieces might fall on him"

Speaking of Bureaucrats. Would Vicissitude ever have made a shot at making a mess of Hell? I can't imagine he'd be all too fond of all that neat, orderly, meticulous torment. Of course, Malador himself and Tempters that are under command of his princes engage in some trickery themselves. Malador through his religion, which encourages selfishness, pettiness and ruthlessness as virtue, and their priests are even granted powers (I imagine their main parable is about a guy who turns away from a society that expected him to care for people, including a very long monologue.), even as those worshippers end up getting condemned by the very God who encouraged them. And of course the tempters who go around encouraging people to fall into particular sins, all the while being the more... free spirited of hell's minions. I imagine there was some interaction there. For all their differences, Malador doesn't usually go under his real name, which was known to his Father, Mother and Brother, sadly deceased.

Does the Trickster spend attention to his worshipers, under the many names he gives them?

OscarDiggs
Jun 1, 2011

Those sure are words on pages which are given in a sequential order!

Speleothing posted:

Brother Yak

Oh? A strong, dedicated survivor who has outlived the rest of his herd and is in search for a new one? Dear sir, have you perhaps heard of the wondrous benefits package available to new members of The Scurrying? Under the guardianship of CEO Piper, The Scurrying is currently the only growing industry in the current market conditions, outside of the niche markets such undead, hell and living pillars of flesh. We're always looking for new members with unique skill sets, such as the ability to consume and digest a wide variety of foodstuffs. If you want to get into contact with our human resources division about possible entry level positions, simple kill and consume the first rat you see and our dedicated team will get back to you as soon as the transformation process has finished.

The Scurrying; a growth industry.

Deadmeat5150
Nov 21, 2005

OLD MAN YELLS AT CLAN
I'm cool with playing around with it, shows your god off a bit. Bismark probably found out and tried to give your guy a thrashing, ultimately ending up being made to look like an rear end in the end.

It's enough to make my mustache bristle.

Shogeton
Apr 26, 2007

"Little by little the old world crumbled, and not once did the king imagine that some of the pieces might fall on him"

What does Bismarck do with the afterlife? I sort of entered this whole judging, heaven and hell thing, but I imagine some gods might want to have their own arrangement for it, while others are glad someone else deals with the whole 'waah, waah, I am dead, please let me see what my grandson is doing' thing. Just to make sure what files the infernal administration has to make under 'faith of the damned individual'

Deadmeat5150
Nov 21, 2005

OLD MAN YELLS AT CLAN
Hey whoever is the King of Hell has to deal with the rejects. All my people go to Valhalla to drink and fight, and fight and drink. In fact it's even one of Bismark's hymnals.

Hymnals of War-page 339 posted:

We drink and we fight, and we drink and we fight
And we drink and we fight, and we drink and we fight
And we drink and we fight, and we drink and we fight
And then we go home to our wives.

Where we drink and we fight, and we drink and we fight
And we drink and we fight, and we drink and we fight
And we drink and we fight, and we drink and we fight
And then we go back to the pub.

(repeat 3x)

An alternate version of the hymn can be found here.

Speleothing
May 6, 2008

Spare batteries are pretty key.

Puppies are dicks posted:

I... I can't find a single thing to question or comment on regarding this God. It's like the platonic ideal of a yak, only without the spitting, horrible lanolin grease, and yak-stench. (which I am assuming he has in divine quantities)

What stench?
I also just wanted to clarify that Mother-To-All is not supposed to be the sun, she worked on the earth all day and went to sleep as a constellation at night.


I'll give an equal and fair consideration to scurrying as long as they appreciate the virtues that Brother Yak represents. And are willing to tie bells to his horns on his favorite days.

Puppies are dicks
Jan 31, 2011

WHY YOU GOTTA BREAK A BROS HEART
Coming down on that deadline, anybody who's got something out there in the works should post and anybody else who's got edits or questions to make ought to take a run at them or learn to hold their peace.

TychoBrahesNose
May 24, 2011

Shogeton posted:

Speaking of Bureaucrats. Would Vicissitude ever have made a shot at making a mess of Hell? I can't imagine he'd be all too fond of all that neat, orderly, meticulous torment. Of course, Malador himself and Tempters that are under command of his princes engage in some trickery themselves.

Vicissitude certainly knows Malador in a professional context -- after all, he escorts the souls of the dead from the places where their bodies fall to wherever they go next, and so he's made deliveries to Hell's Gates countless times. But even though Malador and his brood do engage in certain brands of trickery, Vicissitude can't abide those who are so vulgar, petty, and (worst of all) uncreative about it. Sitting smugly in his infernal palaces surrounded by throngs of shrieking mortals and cowering, boot-licking immortals, Malador is the perfect candidate for being taken down a peg or two. Of course, plenty of individual devils (even -- no especially the higher-ranking ones) have at one time or another found themselves on the receiving end of Vicissitude's antics -- I mean, really, how hard can it be to pull one over on the literal incarnation of Greed or Pride? -- but V has not yet had a chance to take a shot at Malador himself.

Have you, perchance, seen Tombstone? I figure Vicissitude's view of Malador pretty much matches Doc Holliday's view of Johnny Ringo.

quote:

Does the Trickster spend attention to his worshipers, under the many names he gives them?

That's a very good question. Part of his job is to carry messages between mortals and whatever deity those particular ones were beseeching, so he hears lots of inane prayers all the time (alas, it's mostly sorry this and forgive me that and I'm not worthy). Historically, he hasn't particularly cared whether people worship him individually, or as part of a pantheon, or not at all -- why would it matter? His ego's not so fragile that he needs constant validation of his godhood by lesser beings. So as the patron deity of Figure It Out For Your drat Self, as a general rule he is more likely to give subtle help to someone who is relying on his (or her) own mind and tongue than someone who takes the lazy route by badgering the gods into solving his problems for him. That said, he often finds himself supporting the oppressed against their oppressors, more as a response to the arrogance of the latter than to the cries for justice from the former.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, things changed with the advent of Fimbulwinter. Lots more people did begin praying to him directly to help them, and the resulting surge in his power is a signficant part of the reason why he was able to survive the Godpocalypse. That actually got his attention a bit, so now he's quite motivated to find out the cause of (and hopefully, therefore, a way to stop or slow) the spread of the Ice. No doubt V would say that he's doing it for himself, but it's safe to say that that his will on this matter now perfectly coincides with just what so many of his new (and newly-desperate) adherents have been praying for since the Coming of the Cold.

TychoBrahesNose fucked around with this message at 08:42 on Nov 23, 2014

Rhjamiz
Oct 28, 2007

Brynjolf


"Live among wolves, and you learn to act like them."

Brynjolf is the Jǫfurr of the Reykr, a gang of thugs whose primary business is the manufacture and sale of The White; a potent drug made from the supernaturally cold ice. When the big freeze came, Brynjolf and the Reykr were pushed from the northern lands into more southern territory, staying just ahead of the deadly front of freezing cold weather that slowly swallowed the world. Armed with repeating crossbows and gumption, they've already begun carving out a small piece of territory where gang rule is law.

+4 Werewolf: Big, strong, furry, cannibalistic, cold-resistant, and terrifying. The usual.

+4 "The White": Devil Dust, Crank, Crystal; whatever you call it. It's Meth made from the unnaturally cold ice that now grips the world. It has all the usual effects of meth while also making one immune to the (regular) cold. Obviously, it does nothing to protect you from the Supreme Cold that grips the world. If it wouldn't freeze a god, it won't freeze you. Fatal overdose, however, will freeze a person solid. Long-term use slowly turns you into a werewolf. Brynjolf knows the secret of its manufacture.

-4 Trust Issues: As the Top Dog of a Criminal Enterprise, trust does not come easy to Brynjolf. He'll trust you as far as he can throw you (pretty far), and he'll trust you to know what awaits you should you fail; that's about it.

Rauri
Jan 13, 2008




Thaisaidain, City of the Dead

An excerpt from the Saga of Muruk, Tablet 3 posted:

Enkuk came and saw the city of his fathers, [65]
and the lights that were hollow
and the black obelisks and white faces.
There were a thousand terrors that day
he dared not linger lest night fall.

From its position along the mighty Sulde river near the world's core, Thaisaidain has menaced the world for millenia. Both the city and the valley surrounding it are now called Thaisaidain, the valley's original name having been long forgotten. Ever since its fall to the undead pantheon, it has served as a staging ground for attacks against the living. Huge hordes kept secret for centuries have sprung forth to overwhelm countless kingdoms, and some of the largest armies ever assembled have been formed to stave off otherwise certain undead victories. A vast array of crypts and catacombs connect it to the tunnels that run like veins under the world's skin, meaning even the races that shelter in the deep darkness are vulnerable to its endless armies. Its also served as a safe haven for (ideologically permitted) cults - horrible priests and foul madmen throughout history have received dark revelations after fleeing here for safety. The neverborn God Sunhon delighted in using these powerful idiots to further his own ends.

Having existed as a bastion of both necromantic and divine strength for so long, the place has a variety of secrets and oddities about it. The veil that separates the land of the living and the dead is nonexistent here - ghosts and other spirits can manifest freely here. It resonates with the energy and power of the undead - the living instinctively know they don't belong here, and a sense of wrongness and dread pervades the area. Countless necromantic spells and secrets adorn the walls of the city proper, with the darkest and most terrible reserved for the obsidian towers and ziggurats that spiral out of the earth. Given that the Aksan empire's mages were headquartered here, it's entirely possible there are a large number of spells that only their spellcasters have ever had access to - some of the earliest spells ever invented, unfortunately lost to the mortal races. Things seem dull and lifeless everywhere, and light shines less brightly no matter the time of day. Since Aksan feel, there hasn't been a single sleep in Thaisaidain not accompanied by a nightmare.

With the recent destruction of the majority of the undead pantheon and Larissa's unexpected ascendancy - not to mention the icy apocalypse looming on the horizon - the mighty fortress-city is in something of an upheaval. She's already announced her first action - a review of her minions, especially any that Sunhon deliberately hid from her. Which brings us to the...

The Undead Hordes


The Undead Castes, from top to bottom of the ziggurat.
Royalty - Just Larissa. She's pretty certain the rest of them know it, though she'll arrange a demonstration if they start to act otherwise.

Priests and Nobility - The highest caste other undead can aspire to, they dwell in deepest Thaisaidan and are close to gods in their own rights. The most ancient of vampires, demiliches, demigods, and mortals directly empowered and chosen by the head of the undead Pantheon make up this tier. All have names in their own right, and quite a few of them are upset that Larissa was promoted from their rank to head the Pantheon on account of her direct descent from Sunhon. Trouble is anticipated. The most exceptional among the priest caste make up the so-called Nobility, mostly based on mortal fear of them.

Scholars - The spellcasters of the undead horde. Most are liches, but some are mortal clerics that've thrown in their lot with the Queen of Vampires. A few are mystically inclined vampires or undead of some other various stripe. Many make homes for themselves throughout the world, either to further their own research or to create cults or hordes of their own. They tend to attract other undead, and their outposts are referred to as Colonies. The most preeminent among them are the Najaganti - powerful Aksanan mages that Sunhon converted to undead millenia ago, with all that time to perfect their craft. Given the damage they manage to cause on their own, Larissa plans on letting them have a loose leash - for now. Some chosen few are sent to offer mortals that are aging or desire power or that've made pacts with devils an offer - become undead. You can't give your soul to the devil if you destroyed it to become undead, right? Sorry horn-head. No dying for you, just ageless existence in a skeleton body. Less souls for the other gods, more power for her.

Soldiers - Simply enough, undead that are particularly suited for front-line combat. Most are highly resistant to damage on top of being fueled by unholy power. Larissa wants to make a ton more of these guys as quickly as she possibly can. Vampires, Death Knights, Corpsepiles, and Carrion Born are both notorious examples of this caste. Interestingly, members of this case are usually adorned with the arms and armor of ancient Aksan, allowing them to be distinguished from other undead. The army in longest continuous existence, the Swords of Kadar, are made up of the most elite members of this caste and is quartered in the very heart of Thaisaidain.

Craftsmen - Specialized undead used to fill the logistical needs of the undead empire. Corpsegrinders to stitch new undead together and to repair old ones, Harvesters to provide flesh and bone to sustain her legions, mummies to preserve or empower undead chosen for new roles, and a vast array of others that are now dying out to the accursed cold. Ideally, non-undead will never see this caste. While they're not necessarily weak, there's no sense risking them.

Subjects - More powerful than basic undead, these creatures are quite varied in nature and seem to depend on local beliefs. Most have some varying level of malignant intelligence, and seem to be able to sense concentrations of death resonance and other undead. Run of the mill vampires, ghosts, bodaks, ghouls and revenants are part of this caste.

Captives and Spies - Any mortal foolish or weak enough to have been possessed or controlled by an undead creature in some way. While there's no end to the uses they get put towards, Larissa really favors using them to start up cults, assassinating powerful champions of the other gods, and to enact rituals in locations otherwise out of her follower's reach. The well-being of these poor souls never enters into the equation beyond their utility. The undead that possesses them (or haunt areas in mortal holdings or lands) make up the Spy Caste, who rank nearly equal with Craftsmen.

Slaves - Zombies, Skeletons, etc. The weakest and most plentiful of the castes, they're found all throughout the world. Regional beliefs about and protections against these undead vary, though most seem to be effective against the majority of undead of this caste. Though they tend to be weaker than the average warrior of others races, they're both tireless and fearless - huge advantages in protracted battles and campaigns.

Rauri fucked around with this message at 12:25 on Nov 23, 2014

Puppies are dicks
Jan 31, 2011

WHY YOU GOTTA BREAK A BROS HEART

Rhjamiz posted:

Brynjolf

So your primary worshiper base is comprised of addicts, criminal underlings, and people of a very specific lifestyle choice, that's easy to understand. But what do you actually get paid for distributing the White? Cash money lucre itself is increasingly worthless (in the absence of a God to make it otherwise anyway), and unless the Reykr are also branching out into the logistics of managing dwindling stockpiles of half frozen cabbages and sheep I'm wondering what it is exactly a Godcriminal tends to get paid in. Snippets of soul? Faustian bargains that get bigger and more complex until you own them wholesale?

Ice Phisherman
Apr 12, 2007

Swimming upstream
into the sunset



Angling for a last minute addition. Thirty minutes to go. :toot:

Puppies are dicks
Jan 31, 2011

WHY YOU GOTTA BREAK A BROS HEART

Ice Phisherman posted:

Angling for a last minute addition. Thirty Twenty-seven minutes to go. :toot:

ftfy, GOGOGO!

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Ice Phisherman
Apr 12, 2007

Swimming upstream
into the sunset



Parelle - Goddess of Travel, Lady of the Hearth, Last of the Twelve

+4 Warden of Hell - After killing Malador Parelle gained some of his power. Specifically in this case the power to bind, the power to torture, the power to command demons and power over souls. This is a fantastic addition to her repertoire because she wasn't already crazy enough already without becoming a kinder, gentler Satan.

+2 Travel - Probably the only people who have ever fervently prayed to Parelle are people who are hopelessly lost or are on a dangerous stretch of road. If you're trying to get from point A to point B then Parelle is your go to deity.

+2 Sun Warmth - With the formation of her new Pantheon her old power- Mere warmth, was replaced by power over the sun. - Sadly she didn't inherit her brother Lugh's powers over fire, but she can (mostly) keep you from freezing to death. That's something, right?

+2 Nature - New with the formation of Parelle's Pantheon. She knows this power in particular is fragile as it requires an unbroken Pantheon, but this is new among the twelve, now thirteen. Perhaps this was what she was meant to be all of this time?

+2 Hope - Someone to believe in you when you don't, spurning you to act when you have nothing left. It's a sweet lie, but it's the sort that gets you out of bed when you rationally have a finite number of tomorrows to look forward to.

+2 Food and Drink - From fine food near a warm fire to a few rat gnawed frozen crusts, the fact that someone may find food or spirits when they reasonably could not be expected to could very well be attributed to Parelle stuffing your packs and larders. Parelle lost her power over Nature when she killed Malador. His powers ate this away.

-2 Nonviolent - Parelle's siblings were the ones that did the fighting, though often it was among themselves. As the youngest and the least of the children she always made appeals to her older brothers and sisters when she needed defending. Now that they are all dead she is quickly growing to realize that while she has no problem with violence, she has absolutely no idea how to inflict it on others. Parelle has abandoned her pacifism.

-4 Protector of Mortals - Parelle has seen the plight of mortals in this world. There are only two types left that are not under her care as far as she knows. Those are the dying and the dead. Callous gods use their faith as warmth. When they are no longer useful their lives are extinguished for gain. Not even their souls are sacrosanct. Woe to anyone who would use them in such a way.

-2 Not Taken Seriously - Parelle has this problem with being all carrot and no stick. She was the sort of goddess that people would make offerings to at roadside inns and and few places else. She wasn't fertile like her sister Ophelia, she wasn't a hunter like brother Randal, she didn't make things like brother Lugh, save for maybe pudding. If someone offered a prayer to her the best one could expect was a pleasant smile and a vacant stare. If you had to rely on Parelle for anything save for getting your food cooked or getting from point A to point B, you are probably in a bad way. She killed the Warden of Hell. People are probably taking her pretty seriously now.

Edit: New powers, creatures, artifacts and people:

Pirsuq the Living Wind Storm - +4 Living Wind Storm - This is a storm that was tamed by Parelle on her way to the Kingdom of Man. Now the cutest little murder beast of a kid brother ever.

Reggie the undead builder - +4 Building - Sadly he is both dead and crazy, but she wishes for that to change. No longer dead or crazy! Still quiet though.

Home - The underground city - +4 Life holy site - Created by the Pantheon for the mortals to live in. All in all it is an ark of sorts where flora and fauna from all of the planet's biomes can be preserved. Yes, even the mosquitoes.

The Travelers - 160,000 people strong. (Bonds Stronger for Trial, People of Danilor, From Many Lands) On her way to the Kingdom of Man she encountered a people caught in an ice storm which would later become Pirsuq. She calmed the storm and earned her their worship when she saved their lives and their love when she decided to feed and protect them against a world bent on their destruction. 10,000 initially saved, 150,000 saved later when she used the road.

The Dwarves - 1,300,000 people strong (tapped). The last of a proud people, their home was destroyed in a seige. Their god battled while they died and when they failed, Parelle was the one to lead them out of the wreck of their city. Then after a fit of madness where she tried to absorb their god, which she is sorely sad that they witnessed, she lead them to her own home and made Home, the underground city, for them and her Travelers.

--

Once upon a time there were twelve brothers and sisters. They lived in a house and got along well enough, though Lugh was a recluse, Ophelia had too many children and they left their toes out for Parelle to clean up, and Robert would come back from soldiering, get drunk and beat her (though he would always apologize later), for the most part it was a good life. She knew that they were all special and even she had her own minor talents. No one would die and they all lived at home while Parelle would make sure everything was kept tidy and in fact when she realized that it was normal for people to die, it was quite a shock. She cried for a whole day and a night after Robert told her.

Then one day when she was making sure that a particular mortal family made it home safely, she gathered her firewood for the way back, picked up a particularly fine vintage of mead to sip on the way home and found her house ransacked, its windows smashed, its larders raided, and frost covered the inside just like the out. Scared, but not terrified, she eventually mustered her will to go in and look for her family. She found them under the frost both inside of the house and later, outside under hard packed snow. All of them were dead, strongest to weakest, youngest to oldest, save her, the least of her family.

Perhaps if this were some campfire tale she would have picked up her brother's sword and found her family's killers. She would go on a quest of bloody revenge and claim the lives of her attackers in a righteous fury, but this is no campfire story. Instead, she buried them, wept and moved into an increasingly cold world. Perhaps someone might need her there. Please let someone need her.

Premise: Parelle is what one would call a minor deity if they were being generous. Besides travel, all of her powers are minor ones. She doesn't have control over fire, just warmth. She can't empower people to great heights, she can merely give them hope. She can't make the harvest yield a second crop, she can only stretch what food that you have, or maybe you might find a loaf of bread and bottle of beer that you "missed" on the third or fourth pass through a cupboard.

- Right on the dot. :v:

P.S. If it wasn't obvious, I want to play godgame hard mode.

Ice Phisherman fucked around with this message at 05:30 on May 4, 2015

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