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Gods were fickle things, both everywhere and nowhere at once. Omniscence had its drawbacks, however; you grew bored. You watched your creations and followers paddle around in their own self-interested manner for eons, in countless planes and sandboxes. Sometimes you grew bored and came together, breaking into a new, unused plane to craft a new sandbox together, painting mountains and trees across the landscape. You are one such band of gods, in a fit of whimsy molding together both land and civilization on a portion of the world while others do the same elsewhere. What will you make? Welcome! This is a two part map game; the first will be played with a batch of players using Dawn of Worlds, wherein you create the world, the ancient civilizations on it and how they engage with one another. The second is when all those fickle gods get shooed away and, instead, you play those civilizations, major groups, religious circles etc etc using a rather modified Reign system. In both cases it's very rules light, mostly play by ear, with myself overseeing things instead of actually "playing." This will go on until some end state is reached and/or we all grow bored and so on and then maybe I run Stars Without Numbers for space flavored map game or something, who knows, this is my first go at running things here. What will be the nature of the world of Amarath? The rules of the realm, who call it home, the history of it? Fantasy is a given, but will there be magic and elves or simply hardworking humans? Or whatever. That's up to you decide! I will say this, however; the world will be drawn up in delicious hexes, 40x30 in size. It will be done up in (free) Hexographer, which looks kinda like this if you put it in random mode and then throw down some example doodads;  (With added road scribbles that I forgot to remove, apparently!) Not the prettiest thing, but serviceable. This also contains details for the second phase. Spoilers! This will start the first part. Dawn of Worlds is  free and can be found here. The rules are pretty straightforward - it's pretty much two pages long c'mon - however we'll be employing a few house rules.The first of which, and most important, is the size ratio. The original rules call for a physical map and recommend powers be 1", however we're not using something that fits neatly on a table in front of you! Instead, 1" will be six hexes. Purity/Corruption will be on a scale of -3 to +3. Any created civ/race/city can immediately go on step +/- or start at zero, as a reminder. What this scale actually means is... debateable! As another reminder, civilizations and races are pretty interchangeable. You can make a new civilization of an already made race just fine, using the normal means. If this new, splinter civilization starts "adjacent" and follows the rules of subraces then they can be created using that cheaper power instead. I also need a color when you create it, so I can paint it on the map as such to keep things separate. However, you don't start with a city when you create a race/subrace. You command the race to then make one, symbolizing ancient hunter and gatherers gradually coming together. For an actual houserule, avatars can not create civilizations/races. Instead, they're downgraded to a one time create subrace power. This is due to shenanigans. Lastly, as another reminder, each player will take a turn in sign up order each round. They may queue up actions prior to my updates so long as they do it in this order, too, to speed things along. After five rounds in a given age if all players agree we advance to the next stage. After ten rounds it only takes one player. The first stage of the game ends after the third age. If there are any questions feel free to ask away; again, this is going to be mostly freeform in scope, so don't hesitate to get creative. Either ask in the thread or send me a PM if you'd like. Hexographer has a surprising array of hexes, so pretty much as long as it shows up in the Civilization series I can probably paint it! By default, everything will be temperate grasslands, but who knooows? For a sense of scale, the Dawn of Worlds portion is set in a map area the size of a single continent or so. The third age is roughly the height of the classical-early medieval age in reality, so think Rome and the Byzantines when you get to that point. This is also simply world building, don't try to "win" here, that ain't fun for no one. Interested? For the first part I'm looking for six gods with attitude. First come, first serve, though I fully expect the need for replacements because this is Something Awful. When you sign up I need two things; a lovely picture and a discussion of the nature of magic in the world. The picture is either a paint-drawn image or, if you're lazy, a cropped image of some geographical thing in reality/fiction. I mash these images together in ~200 hex blobs and form the basis of the map with it. Everything will still be coastlines and featureless land, but you could scribble in an inland sea/lake and such and that will be included. You can be as detailed or lazy with this as you like! Add water waves if you want a small Britain-like island, for instance. Or a peninsula. Or whatever! The second part is a consensus. Do you want magic in the world? If so, what is it? It is ritualism not unlike Glorantha, low and revered like Tolkien-ism, or arguably common in like the usual Dungeon and Dragons campaign? Or even high magic to the point of Eberron! Maybe this magic is solely divine in nature, channeled from the gods and petty spirits of the world. Perhaps it's arcane, pulled from the nature of the plane. Or both. Perhaps we're in the whimsical, yet magic-less world of Dwarf Fortress! All examples, not options. Tell me about magic and either lazily agree with a previous sign up or I will mash the answers together in an averaged out answer.
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Nov 13, 2015 18:12
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Nov 13, 2015 18:58
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This is my first god game! Please be gentle! Also, a picture is coming but since I'm currently phone posting, imagine that a cropped picture of a vast desert is here. On Magic: Magic, in this world, is rather low-key. It exists, but in ways so subtle as to be imperceptible. A man will shrug off a blow that should have felled him, a futile gesture of rebellion will break down the walls of a city. These things are not controlled by magicians and charlatans, though - they are divine in nature, the gods themselves placing a ripple in the pond to see the effects it will have on the world. It is often said that these feats of magic are merely a game, the gods playing wagers for the fate of the world and all the people thereof. The competing theory, though, is that with enough prayer, and through devotion to one's patron deity, these powers can be gained and used freely - the source of great villains and greater heroes throughout the land. The truth is rather vague - often, the gods will imbue a mortal being with some spark of the divine just to see what happens, but those who study the ways of the gods and walk their divinely ordained paths can tap into a direct conduit of divine energy. This tapping of power that man was not meant to wield, though, can oft lead to self-destruction. Tempus Rimeblood fucked around with this message at 02:29 on Nov 14, 2015 |
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Nov 13, 2015 19:11
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Sounds good! You don't really need to do a picture if it's going to be "big empty space." You'll have to earmark turning its climate into desert later, though, it'll start out empty grassland. Welcome aboard! You don't need a God, by the way, outside of flavorful use of powers and the like if you want to. Feel free, of course.
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Nov 13, 2015 22:27
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Collaborative worldbuilding! My only weakness! My proposition for geographical feature is this:  Mountains! With llamas! At least I think they re llamas. Magic is first and foremost a natural force; some sort of suspended or potential energy, more common in some places than others, which reacts in a variety of ways depending on a myriad of factors; this has led to the development in rural places of superstitions that are often only marginally correct (if you nap under an oak tree with a branch of holly tied to your left wrist, you may dream of your true love, says the matron; what she does not know is that this only happens if the dreamer is the descendant of a young blade who died protecting their beloved by bandits 200 years ago). It is not, however, a completely random force: there are patterns of symbolism that can be noticed if you are willing to analyze a magical effect and keep an eye out fo them. More civilized places are aware of at least some of these arcane laws, and have implemented them in their everyday lives; people knowledgeable about such things often gather a reputation for extravagance because of the bizzarre rituals they swear by. Like any other natural force, magic has shaped the world around it even without the intervention of civilized races. There are such wondrous things as forests of glass trees, floating mountains and enormous winged reptiles that still somehow lift their massive weight from the ground; and while there is an explanation to be' found (the first tree in that forest shielded the God of Mines when he rested there on his way to reach his brother's wedding) most people are simply aware that the magic is there and has done what it has done. One concept is known by all when it comes to magic, however: emotions play a big part in it. This allora even the most ignorant of peasant to properly curse someone if they feel strongly enough that they deserve to suffer, for example.
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Nov 13, 2015 23:53
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Looks good as well! Although I must admit, I want images of landmasses, top down geography etc to form the general shape of the continent with. I can actually work with that image (Hey look, the sky is the sea and everything else is land, very slavic.) but future signs ups ought to keep that in mind! So far we have "blob" and "the top half of eastern Europe, kinda."
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Nov 14, 2015 00:30
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Gamerofthegame posted:Looks good as well! Although I must admit, I want images of landmasses, top down geography etc to form the general shape of the continent with. I can actually work with that image (Hey look, the sky is the sea and everything else is land, very slavic.) but future signs ups ought to keep that in mind! Now it's late, but I can dig up something more useful for you tomorrow if you'd prefer.
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Nov 14, 2015 00:55
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If you'd like, it works either way.
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Nov 14, 2015 01:06
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   On Magic: Magic is omnipresent, but low level. In its own way magic helps to define the world, but it is generally only by large communal effort that magic can be wrought effectively. It is impossible to simply start throwing fireballs around as if the laws of nature did not exist, but when you possess a large number of like minded people all desperatly hoping that the crops will not fail? Or a secret ceremony carried out in the dead of winter by the elders of a tribe? Magic comes from Ritual and from the Gods, but its efforts can be expended by the individual or a community. Josef bugman fucked around with this message at 01:13 on Nov 14, 2015 |
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Nov 14, 2015 01:09
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   Magic: Magic Is a easily quantifiable and acquired resource . Most commonly mined in the form of crystals magic is used as a mobile energy source. These crystal are then forged into items where the magic contained within the crystals can be transferred to enhance the quality. Raw magic is dangerous because it radically mutates the life in the immediate area. The act of striking two crystals together creates massive burst of magical feedback. In theory this feedback could reach the strength of a nuclear bomb, but there has not been a clash between items containing that degree of energy. Magic is organised into three broad categories based on the color the crystal. Red: This magic effects the body, this can be in the form of shape-shifting or just increasing the natural capabilities of the user Orange: This is the magic of the mind. Telepathy, telekinesis and empathy are common uses Purple: Magic of the soul, this allows for the user to travel to different planes of existence. JesterOfAmerica fucked around with this message at 15:15 on Nov 14, 2015 |
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Nov 14, 2015 06:07
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Hey this looks awesome and I want to get in on it. terrible paint image tw  Basically an inland sea with some bays and islands, protected by an archipelago. Feel free to diverge from this, just trying to get the idea across. Magic: is sympathetic, ritualistic, and revelatory. It reflects the hidden patterns that order all things. A warrior might wear a pendant of iron cooled in his own blood to guard him through a battle. A soothsayer must tear out and burn her eyes in order to gain second sight. A wizard prepares a trap from half-masticated spiderweb to hold his enemies in their place. Magic is reliable enough that societies know to use it for certain needs, but just chaotic enough that it can never be really trusted. Sure, the crops are now growing despite the unseasonably harsh summer - but every firstborn male child is born with a downy covering of feathers. Most of them lose it, but the few who don't are regarded as ill omens by everyone else. Having the blessing of a god tends to make magic more reliable, but also perverts its use towards the personal goals of that deity. rakovsky maybe fucked around with this message at 06:59 on Nov 14, 2015 |
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Nov 14, 2015 06:48
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First, an image: On Magic: Magic exists, but actual magic is rare, but believed to be more common than it is. Popular superstition sees omens, blessings and curses everywhere. However, in reality, most so called "sorcerers" are just conmen. Occasionally, though, a man or woman finds him or herself actually able to use magic. This is almost always subtle and hardly noticeable. Things just work out for the lucky recipient...maybe the dice are more lucky than normal; maybe he just happens to find the tool he needs when he needs it; maybe the merchant just happens to be in a good mood when he comes along; maybe he manages to land just right after a serious fall and breaks his arm instead of his neck. Actual users of magic tend to become heroes or villains of legend and almost never lead ordinary lives. Their lives are special, if often tragic.
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Nov 14, 2015 19:18
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That's six! Please wait warmly. Any additional interest will be earmarked as replacements as needed.
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Nov 14, 2015 20:16
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The World of Amarath, they called it. A few hundred gods swarming a plane, taking their metaphorical buckets and piling together a sandcastle from the astral wastes. Gods had their own preferences in this stint of whimsy and boredom; some relished in the creation of the world itself, putting earth together and molding continents and mantle. Some liked the precious balance of pouring water within, letting the precious earth-workers fret when they poured more water in then originally imagined. Others waited for this time to pass, these great motions of creation, until they could do more delicate work. Once the world was shaped these heaving workers were finished, tired and seeking a nap, while the giddy host of other divinities surged in. Some planted basic life, fauna and flora, deer and flowers. Some blew into the air, creating the wind currents. Most, however, joined together in a gaggle and oversaw a section of the world, their side of the sandcastle, and got to work. The world was flat as is, but with their touches details would emerge; climate, elevation, forests. Time would pass as they busily worked, this newly made planet spinning countless times between each pass until, gradually, it formed a recognizable world. You are among the several godlings who seized a portion of the sandcastle in a silent arrangement, all looking amongst each other on what to do, who would start. Even mortal enemies did little but jeer at each other; this was for fun! A game that would be abandoned as the world prospered, leaving yet another fantasy world lying in creation. There were few things you couldn't change, adjust, within your chosen zone. One of which, however, was the nature of magic; only the most powerful of divine could breath such wonder into the world, merely an act of kindness so the others could have their fun. Of course, it'd be entirely rude to direct what they would do; this time it was rather low key. Magic within Amarath is something akin to ones soul and life-force, albeit wholly separate; it weaved through everything, acting as the realm's heartbeat. Few were attuned with it, unknowingly empowering them - some would merely call it Fate and Luck, leading to a few larger than life characters. Some thought it as mere divine favor, as when a host, a legion, of people came together, their hearts one with a single goal in mind it could transpire; a village "praying" for rain in the midst of a drought, for instance. In this instance it was more the supernaturally gifted, yet there was another; crystals, condensed, raw magic given a physical form and littered about the world. A precious resource, but with it came acts of whimsy along the world, physics-defying geography, infused beasts and the like. Of course without an event this was hardly going to happen normally, nor would the more sentient species of the realm figure out how to implore it without advancement. Still. There was Fate and Crystals.  It is the dawn of the First Age, Round 1. Tempus Rimeblood 7 paradoxGentleman 6 Josef bugman 7 JesterofAmerica 9 rakovsky maybe 7 Epicurius 6 For the first round anything lower then a six was re-rolled, simply out of kindness. The turn order is the sign-up order, however you do not need to wait for my updates to proceed so long as it's not something more... freeform, like an event or catastrophe. Each update you will also get your roll for the next round if you took your action, so as soon as the order wraps around you can keep going. If you end with five or less points you will gain a cumulative bonus to your next power roll, so don't be afraid to spend! (You won't get a re-roll after, though.) This is the First Age, the time of Land. You could make an early civilization or avatar etc, though this is expensive! And would lead to a boring planet, given everything right now is flat and temperate! (With a few seas.) The power of land can make islands appear (or land disappear beneath the waves, too, if you feel so inclined) as well various geographical features, while climate and turn things into deserts, snow-dusted areas, dreadful badlands, etc. When you take your turn please just draw/indicate on the map! I will come through and hexographer it after. You can do as many actions as you like up to your points and each 1" is six hexes, which do not have to be in the same area. (You could just throw six hexes of forests randomly, for example.) But wait! Here is a barebones list of the available terrain hexes in hexographer; there's farm/grass, grasslands, shrublands, savanas, deserts, badlands, jungles, marshes, swamps, mountains, volcanos, snow fields, glaciers, kelp "forests" and various modifiers for the lot of them, such as in quality, as well as hilly/foresty variants of the lot. Go nuts! Gamerofthegame fucked around with this message at 21:46 on Nov 14, 2015 |
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Nov 14, 2015 21:34
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Should we modify the map using our own Paint-like tools and apps, or should we tell you what we would like to have there and let you handle it?
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Nov 14, 2015 22:35
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Ultimately I will be changing the map using hexographer, so it's mostly up to how much effort you'd like. You could scribble in a blob of hexes and say how you'd like to be changed or actually draw it out all pretty like. Either way, it won't show up in the end result, unfortunately.
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Nov 14, 2015 22:47
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Okay, let's try it this way. See the small peninsula closest to the north-eastern corner of the world? I would like to spend 4 points so that 12 tiles worth of lands around it lower notably their temperature, becoming a cold steppe; home of the reindeer and the caribou, where small shrubs and lichens are the only vegetables that manage to grow. I suppose you should use the snow fields to represent that.
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Nov 14, 2015 23:11
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Alright then In the peninsula that directly south I would like to cover 8 points worth of tiles in jungle (climate similiar to the amazon, hot and damp weather) from the bottom of the landmass going up prioritizing the coastlines first
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Nov 14, 2015 23:30
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I'm afraid you must operate within the turn order, though. Descending player order. I'll carry them out this round all the same when your turn comes up, though. Jester, which peninsula? The left or right? I assume right but we've time to make sure! Otherwise those are both good turns. I'll turn on grid numbers next update, though. They're kinda spammy so I refrained.
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Nov 15, 2015 01:08
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The right, close to the island chain. Thanks for the clarification on turn order.
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Nov 15, 2015 01:12
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That area to the northwest of the river, I'll spend 3 points to create a mountain chain when my turn comes around.
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Nov 15, 2015 01:19
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Question: Shape land lets me affect 6 hexes but only with one of the same terrain right? So I can't create 3 hexes worth of mountain and 3 of desert?
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Nov 15, 2015 01:32
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rakovsky maybe posted:Question: Shape land lets me affect 6 hexes but only with one of the same terrain right? So I can't create 3 hexes worth of mountain and 3 of desert? That is the case, yes. You don't have to use all six hexes, but you can't mix and match. edit: Within a single use of the power, anyway. Gamerofthegame fucked around with this message at 01:49 on Nov 15, 2015 |
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Nov 15, 2015 01:47
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Awesome. I downloaded hexographer just to look at the different terrain types. Can I (once my turn rolls around) spend 3 to Shape Land and create a six hex long Reef in the southwest ocean, roughly equidistant from the land and the map edge. If the shape could be a line roughly following the diagonal shape of the coast that'd be great.
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Nov 15, 2015 02:31
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I would like to spend 6 points to change the terrain around the river delta area (eastern half of the map, toward the north) into swampland (retaining the river, of course.)
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Nov 15, 2015 17:39
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I would like to use 3 points to change the entirety of the largest island into Jungle/forest. Then I would like to use 3 more points to sink the area between the northern Island and the main continent into the sea entirely. Josef bugman fucked around with this message at 22:46 on Nov 15, 2015 |
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Nov 15, 2015 22:41
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Round 2 The various gods began their work, sculping the land below. Curiously many molded the adolescent, near-lifeless lands into moist, humid lands filled with both life and fauna, thick and imposing jungles. The outliers were few; the ocean floor surged upwards in a single shelf, lined with beautiful reefs briefly, visible to passerbys on the water above. A mountain range did its damnest to make the usual fantasy-patchwork something of a reality, vaguely separating the chilly north and the humid south.  I fudged the request on removing the sea between the mainland and island, as having half a sea simply didn't make sense. From here on out if I have gotten anything wrong feel free to make a correction, either during your turn or immediately. Tempus Rimeblood 9 + paradoxGentleman 7 + Josef bugman 13 + JesterofAmerica 8 + rakovsky maybe 7 + Epicurius 7 + + is merely a mark for the bonus point(s) for me Now. I suppose for all intents and purposes the sequence of the turn order won't matter during the first age. Afterwards, however, it will be mandatory to follow it. Also; hex numbers! Five hundred years pass in a blink of a divine eye... Gamerofthegame fucked around with this message at 23:13 on Nov 15, 2015 |
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Nov 15, 2015 23:11
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2 points to turn 13.12, 14.13, 15.12, 16.13, 15.13, 16.13 into volcanic land 2 points to turn 13.13, 14.14, 14.15, 15.14, 15.15, 16.14 into swamp land
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Nov 15, 2015 23:24
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Vast over-estimation of resources. Please ignore.
Josef bugman fucked around with this message at 00:26 on Nov 16, 2015 |
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Nov 15, 2015 23:45
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Josef bugman posted:Just a quick thing but was adding the forest to hexes 32.23 through to 35.28 impossible or did I just not really put it across well? Sorry! Also 1" does equal 6 tiles? Does that mean in like a straight line or could it be in triangular groupings? I'm afraid you've gotten yourself confused somewhere on the costs! Each use of Shape Land costs 3 points for every 1", or in this case six hexes during the first age. You can use it as many times as you like, with each purchase potentially being a different terrain you're placing. It looks like you're thinking each use of the power only costs a single point.
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Nov 16, 2015 00:17
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Gamerofthegame posted:I'm afraid you've gotten yourself confused somewhere on the costs! Each use of Shape Land costs 3 points for every 1", or in this case six hexes during the first age. You can use it as many times as you like, with each purchase potentially being a different terrain you're placing. It looks like you're thinking each use of the power only costs a single point. Thats where I hosed up! Thank you! Will make the alterations now! Okay, adding more land to northern most island for 6 points Adding a small Island in the southern ocean for 3 points Adding a Mountain range on the northern island for 3 points 
Josef bugman fucked around with this message at 00:26 on Nov 16, 2015 |
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Nov 16, 2015 00:17
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Those rivers coming from flat grassland are making my eyes twitch. Spend 3 points to Shape Land building mountains at 27.09, 28.10, 29.10, 27.13, 28.13, 28.14 Spend 3 points to Shape Land placing Desert at 25.07, 25.08, 26.08, 27.08, 28.08, 28.09 rakovsky maybe fucked around with this message at 01:28 on Nov 16, 2015 |
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Nov 16, 2015 01:24
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I was wondering have do have a standard for how much land a hex is?
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Nov 16, 2015 02:15
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Hm. Somewhere maybe within 50-200 km, I suppose.
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Nov 16, 2015 02:22
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When it's my turn, the smaller island to the south, the one that goes from 28, 25 to 30,29. Spending 6 points to cover the entire thing with forest.
Epicurius fucked around with this message at 02:37 on Nov 16, 2015 |
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Nov 16, 2015 02:33
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I won't do anything this turn.
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Nov 16, 2015 08:07
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I'm going to spend 6 points to Shape Land again, extending the desert previously created.
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Nov 16, 2015 16:50
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Round 3 Gods of wind and weather sat on the metaphorical sidelines as they waited patiently, eager to draw breath into the world to fit the many challenges in the environment. As they gazed down to this continent in particular they grew giddy, eyeing the frigid lands that nearly immediately followers the a harsh, rocky desert and mountains. Terrible thoughts reigned in their minds of what would happen there, but such was the fantasy patchwork. None the less, they would not bother the sculptors until long after; there was plenty of time. Jungles bloomed, painting the land in warm humidity - curiously, it seems only a small island will remain temperate at this rate!  Tempus Rimeblood 12 ++ paradoxGentleman 11 Josef bugman 9 ++ JesterofAmerica 15 ++ rakovsky maybe 11 ++ Epicurius 10 ++ + is merely a mark for the bonus point(s) for me Ironically everyone but the guy saving up rolled on the high side, plus the bonus meaning there were hefty paychecks all around! Once again, as per tradition, the fast-forward button is pressed...
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Nov 16, 2015 21:09
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Gamerofthegame posted:Ironically everyone but the guy saving up rolled on the high side, plus the bonus meaning there were hefty paychecks all around!] There is no justice in this world. So I was thinking: I would like to drop a meteorite shining with arcane and mysterious powers on the bigger southern island, as close to the center as possible. Is that an acceptable event? It would cost me 10 points to do so.
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Nov 16, 2015 21:15
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Would a 10 point event to make the volcano spew crystal dust on regular intervals be kosher?
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Nov 16, 2015 21:22
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