|
Gamethread Discord for fellow godgame people and questions: https://discord.gg/96yQhX6, I'm on there as Zombie Lore Fluff    Introduction The tattered lands of Vauthal are a story of upheaval and chaos, apocalypse after apocalypse, followed by regrowth, rebirth, and the return of the Ancient Ways. Outside of Vauthal, the primordial chaos sought to destroy it but was hampered by the efforts of the First Gods, beautiful and petty as they were; once their efforts had sealed away the thread, they turned inward to the head of their pantheon. Erindur, the Sun God, whose purview was the Blue Sun, the Oceans, Agriculture rode a chariot of majesty and power above all the lesser gods. So they sought to steal the Sun, and in his rage Erindur split Vauthal into two. The borders of the natural world weakened, and chaos found its way in; many of the First Gods died in this, and the rest soon after. Time after time the struggling world has once again birthed gods from the hopes of the peoples around it. Other gods saught to change it. Relics from ages not spoken of sit upon relics of ages long forgotten, each new paradigm finding a world struggling to find answers from where the past led and what their future would hold. In time, the minds of mortals turned against the gods; wizardly magics were corrupted by so-called Spirit Kings, creatures born out of True Names and elemental qualities in the flux of energy, and the remaining demigods went into hiding or were reduced to their magical essences. The Blue Sun had gone out, and once it’s clockwork replacement had failed, undead swept the lands in countless number. The last human King was slain, and mortals had to dwell in secret underground refuges to avoid the monsters above. Recent History, and Leadup to the Game Many of the mechanizations of Erindur were put in place to ensure his rightful and terrible reign restored; most have failed or otherwise been thwarted by the efforts of the Shadow, previously an elemental plane that has since gained sentience due to loss of the Blue Sun. The most recent of these efforts resulted in you. Shards of the Blue Sun, hidden deep underground and otherwise lost by troves either found their way to yourself, or you found them; maybe you were born with the shard as a third eye? To each they are unique, but guided by purpose: To usher the world into a New Age. The Game The Focus This is a Smallgods game using the PDQ system where you play the previously mentioned Children of the Sun. You’re going to be uncovering the mysteries of the world around you as you leave your dwellings and leading your peoples to a hopefully better situation, or leaving them to their own fates. The game map is going to have spaces with stuff to unlock, monsters to fight, hearts and minds to win over, all the while knowing that the Shard that empowers you could eventually bring back a dangerous, but different threat to the world in Erindur. The game will have starting off 2 rounds of actions followed by a round of storytelling, using mechanics from Microscope as I as the GM don’t know anything about the most recent apocalypse or the efforts made to avoid it, and I want to hear what the players have to say about it. I’ll explain those as we come to it. Theme Expectations Betrayal, Defeat, Hope, Struggle, Cosmic Horror, an endless series of World-Ending-Threats, Rugged Heroism, Indirect Player-vs-Player conflict, Player cooperation, big scary threats that can’t easily be resolved, story telling (backed by the threat of poorly thought out mechanics!!!) Things that Definitely Will not be in the Game Weird gore stuff, direct player to player pvp will have to play poker or something against each other rather than use default pdq rules cause I hate it Dice Rolls and Action Mechanics Dice Rolls will be made publicly, with the DCs for different actions under the hood. You get 1 Smallgod Action and 1 People Action a turn. quote:oh ok so the post structure i see it is: What is a Child of the Sun, or Sun Prophet? (Character Creation) You are a protector or steward, for better or worse of your people, and your peoples’ faith in you is what powers the Shard. As you find more people your individual powers will increase, you prosper as they prosper. Rescuing areas from agents of Shadow or Spirit Kings likewise will increase your ability, or grant you temporary benefits, and increase Erindur’s effort into the world around you. You are also a Storyteller, and being imbued with the Shard has given you insight into ages past; you are a cultural totem to your peoples. (this is where the Microscope game mechanics come into play). quote:Making a Character/a People Last Notes Looking for 5-10 players. Probably have recruitment up for oh say a week or maybe more. Banana Man fucked around with this message at 18:11 on Apr 6, 2019 |
#
?
Mar 20, 2019 07:15
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 25, 2024 12:11 |
|
|
Interest post tho I be a fool
|
|
#
?
Mar 20, 2019 15:59
|
|
|
Callisto Music: https://youtu.be/KDxuyiAqZFQ Backstory: 'I was there, the day the sun died. I was there when the clockworks stopped. I was there!...' Callisto closed the book she was reading. The young sorceress pinched the bridge of her nose. She hadn't been there, and this tome held no answers. The scraps and accounts that had been collected by the scholar were incomplete and fragmentary at best. It was a work that had found its way down. Down into the barrows. Her city. A town underground. For uncounted time it had been ruled by the Knights. Now, it was she that sat in that seat. The shard had come to her when she was a mere slip of a girl. Like many down here, her parents had died of the black-lung and she had found herself working at a young age at the knight's barracks. She cleaned, she labored. She was protected and fed. Callisto thought again at the histories. All the books her people could find... Above. The Knights were of the order of the flame. A name really, signifying an undying dedication to purity and justice. When the people lived in the land above, when the king yet lived and the clockwork sun still turned its wheels and cogs, they were but a middling order. When the world got broken, many years ago is when the people were driven underground. The Knights had fought and brought the people of the town they were protecting into the mountain hold, the dwarves had once lived here in this ancient place it was rumored. Long had it been a place for the knights to stage attacks against the bandit prince of those times. They were fleeing the apocalypse, the end of the world. Those were dark days. Sacrifices were made and hard choices. The fungus and other cave plants fed the people and livestock, but the terrible price was breathing in the spores. Disgraced the knights of old felt, and so had become the Knights of the Fallen Flame. It was a hard existence, but the people lived. Many joined the Knights, seeing it as a path to rule or power. Struggles and politics almost ended the last bastion. She sighed. Remembering. She had been down in the caves. Deeper. The mushroom and fungi crops had a poor harvest. She and the other serving girls had gone with some of the squires. There were dangers down here. Monsterous troglodytes, deep worms, and other things. They were safe they had thought. An attack hadn't happened in over a year. But that was not to last. The melted wax face hovered above hers. All of the squires were dead, all of her friends from the keep dead. She was shaking and crying in fear as the troglodytes rummaged through the bodies. This one breathed its stinking breath into her face as it licked her. Would it eat her? Would it do....something else? It pawed at her. She screamed. All of the monsters laughed while the one holding her farted in mirth. She struggled loose and began to crawl away, the creatures watching and laughing. It grabbed her ankle. She screamed again reached over and grabbed the rock...smashed it against the creatures head with all of her strength. She needed to get away she needed- . The rock burst and the blue sliver of crystal ignited the area with radiance. It boiled and soon took on an amorphous shape, it changed and soon became a black sphere crackling with energy. As one all of the troglodytes held their eyes and screamed. It was horrible. It went on and on and on as she closed her eyes and the beasts melted...  A book fell off of one of the piles. She came out of the memory with a start. Picking up the book she put it back on the pile. The distant past fading a bit. When she had returned with the shard at first the Commander and the Knights had wanted to use it. Anyone that touched it was subjected to the same treatment as the monsters. It took a while to figure things out. All of the elders and wise-women, scholars, arcanists, apothecaries, alchemists debated. In the end and after some experimentation on their part, they found the answer. It was something of legend. A shard of Erindur's power, his blue sun. Things happened rapidly after that. Tutoring and all of the political maneuvering within the knighthood, minor adventures and attempted assassinations. All of it culminating in her becoming the leader of this place. All of the Knights bending a knee to her...  The massive doors had been opened to the outside, and they had found the world changed. Their probes had found the world overrun by chaos, undead, threats such as the Spirit Kings and much much more. The air had cleared at least and they had found a cure for black lung. The doors had to be guarded day and night and the city also had stepped up recruitment into the Knights. Her power had grown, her knowledge more so. She just needed to find out. Why? And what this all could mean. It was at this moment that the vision struck her: A vast city and castle reclaimed. Massed undead at the walls. Other pockets of refugees emerging back to the surface, some good and some bad. A giant winged shadow and then...nothing. She had been grasping the table in a death grip and was sweating. These visions had come and gone lately with increasing frequency and regularity, it was a sign. Callista and her people had to go to this place. Take back that which had been taken. And survive.
 
  Backstory:  See above-:- The Knights of the Fallen Flame were men and women in order of knights (one of many) that served the king and protected the land. When everything went apocalypse they fled into the shelter of an old dwarven city that had been converted as a sort of base in the mountains to fight bandits. They took as many people and refugees with them as they could and closed the doors to wait out the "long night". After many years the knights grew in power and ruled the city as a sort of military-junta. They were very hard rulers and the society was eventually evolved to serve them and their needs living like surfs while the knights got the best of everything because of the protection provided. Their infighting almost destroyed the settlement several times in its history with times of relative peace between before things built up again. With the discovery of the shard at first the Knights tried to take it for themselves, when it became clear that "the girl" was the only one who could touch the shard many machinations were set to try and use Callista or destroy her. When the ashes settled over the clashes it would be Callista who would rule them. With the opening of the settlement to the upper world once more, the people and the knights must brave this new world. But can they get past the power hungry history and infighting that had taken root there? Or would it once again rear its ugly head to impact the innocent and guilty alike? 1: How did they hide from the monsters above?: They took shelter in a mountain stronghold of the Knights' in the old world. It used to be a dwarven city (or was rumored to be) before that. They had closed the massive doors via the mechanisms created by the city's builders and kept the outer world at bay. 2: What corrupted bloodline do they carry? Mark of the power hungry - The knights are usually selfless and protectors of the people, however they have become highly political and power hungry. People often seek to join the knights for those reasons and eventually when things reach a tipping point things tend to boil over. This can draw in many others beyond the knights and has caused many deaths in the past. 3: Why do they stay in your influence? Callista is different and cares about all of her people. But most importantly she is: Powerful. I am Communist fucked around with this message at 21:06 on Mar 20, 2019 |
|
#
?
Mar 20, 2019 17:45
|
|
|
Hibiscus Hibiscus is a scion of an earlier age. Lost and terrified in a world gripped by yet another apocalypse she sought refuge in a forgotten ruin. Deep within this maze of rust and glass she found an artifact. Drawn by its warmth and light she touched it. In a flickering instant she was hurled forward hundreds of years. The ruins around her crumbled to dust, a drip became a river, became a pool, became a vast dark lake of water. Left alone on an island surrounded by dark, Hibiscus began to sing to buoy her spirit. To her shock the very elements responded to her song. So she sung of a home, a place of safety, a place of growth. And the stones shaped and the water flowed and strange luminescent plants grew. And when her people fled the surface they found a refuge. Was it the Sun Lord's plan or an accident of power and providence? [Shaman +2] Hibiscus is loved by the elements and the spirits within. Unlike her people she does not go through the lengthy binding process to use elementals, she merely asks and natural entities comply. Their power varies wildly and they can be fickle and distracted but they love her. [The Sword that Does Not Cut +2] The Sun Shard that Hibiscus has taken up is a strange one. That it has the aspect of Time is obvious. But not simply time, the Sword That Is Not has a curious affinity to natural rhythms and repetition. Hibiscus does not fully understand it or control it well but has found a few tricks. The work of a blacksmith can be sped up tenfold, a fire may be burnt out in seconds or prolonged for a day, crops might ripen faster. The Metronome Edge clearly has many uses if it can just be applied correctly. Zrazz  The Zrazz dimly recall their glorious past. In the time of the Blue Sun theirs was a kingdom of high magic and beautiful gardens. But it did not last. With each cataclysm the Zrazz are broken. Ruins atop ruins. But the Zrazz retreat only grudgingly. They hold on to old magic, old teachings. They slither among relics of their greatness and persist. Even as they were pushed underground by the legions of the dead they remember the glory of ages past. In the Dripping Caverns below their ancestral home they build structures of great beauty with the power of the elements to shape and bind. Whether these will be the ruins they cower within in the next Age or the foundation of a kingdom resurgent remains to be seen. As they revere their past, they revere Hibiscus as an emissary from their past. She is a memory of sun upon their faces and loved for it. [Binders +2] Though any who directly wield elemental magics are vulnerable to the corruption of the Spirit Kings, elemental creatures can still be coaxed into useful action. The Zrazz are adept at communing with such elementals and binding them to tasks, often into precious stones. Jewelry among the Zrazz is both a sign of status and of the potential power at the wearer's beck and call. Note that the binding pacts are exchanges with a set limit. Enslaving a spirit is regarded as alignment with the Spirit Kings and thus anathema. [Coldblooded - 2] When the sun went out it took a piece of the Zrazz's vital energy with it. They are a sluggish people, slow to take action on a personal and communal level. They are greatly affected by cold and do not trust outsiders.
|
|
#
?
Mar 20, 2019 18:07
|
|
|
A lot of the broad strokes of the nation were randomly generated, so this has been a fun exercise. Hekfrest  An elf asks Hekfrest to fix an enchanted sword. Hekfrest was pulled from the birthing pits with his horns intact and nearly-strait, considered by the superstitious to be a sign of greatness, though Hekfrest had no patience for superstition. He grew quickly and his quiet intelligence impressed his elders, who had him apprenticed to a scribe, studying what was left of wizard-king Pashkal's writings (may be never rise again). By adulthood, he had surpassed his master, and had gone on to study many arts in the abandoned libraries. The people of his tower lauded his skill and his pleasant nature, and soon elected him to join a trading delegation. But before any citizen could travel between the towers, it was mandatory for them to partake in the shamanic rituals and see beyond the physical world. Despite his protests, he fasted and purged and in the smoke-filled holy chamber at the center of his tower, Hekfrest took the sacred drink and saw shapes and visions beyond mortal comprehension. He saw the Blue Sun within the lightless tower, shining both from above and below. He smelled the pit from which he was born and retread every step of his life, understanding now that he had been a god sent to fix the world and seeing every conversation and every chance occurrence in a new light. His spirit and consciousness grew and he became one and whole with every Citizen of the his tower. He knew what was real and what was unreal. Time and space unfolded and knowledge of all history and of all skills poured into him and out again. He reached out to grab the fleeting knowledge of All Truth. Then he threw up. But what he threw up was not the sacred drink, like most who imbibe it. Instead he threw up a Shard of the Sun - which he instantly recognized in the fading of his true-vision to contain upon it the Runes of Storms. The vision had not been untrue, he was a demigod, and the sacred drink had awakened his godly mantle. Through the ritual he was now connected to the spirits of all his fellow-citizens. Glowing with power and with the sacred drink forever in his veins, he was given a thirteenth seat upon the Council of Twelve before he embarked upon his journey of trade and discovery. +2 Portals: Despite his natural talents for magic, Hekfrest came up through the ranks of his tribe the traditional way, by mastering useful crafts. He is a user of many forms of magic, but a master of the Portals which his people rely on. +2 The SunShard of Storms: Amongst the many runes he carries on his belt is the shard which was inside of him since birth. Throughout recorded history its unknown presence had drawn destructive hurricanes onto the nearby coast, but now he is learning to control its power. The Confederacy of the Towers  In the days of the clockwork sun, the evil wizard-king Pashkal created trolls and ogres to serve him in war. He failed and was cast down, but his mortal slaves managed to endure, the last of their towers unassailable due the hurricanes which wracked their coast. As the world collapsed, it was voted by the 'children of Pashkal' that the only way in or out of the towers would be through portal-gates summoned by an elected council. And so they sealed every entrance and window with many layers of stone and hid within for generations, becoming a society of many tribes & clans, each in their own isolated tower, trading knowledge and necessities when the councils opened the portals. They freely chose their leaders and strove to rewrite their bloody destiny into one of trade and magical craftsmanship, facilitated by the portals and those who could control them. +2 Huge: The citizens of the Confederacy are mostly of tremendous size, strength, toughness, and physical prowess. -2 Pacifist: Though created to be warriors, they instead avoid violence and seek to trade their goods and skills rather than conquer. Speleothing fucked around with this message at 03:12 on Mar 26, 2019 |
|
#
?
Mar 20, 2019 19:34
|
|
|
All these apps are excellent, however many of the backstories take place distantly enough that they could be affected by the collaborative Microscope rounds. How comfortable is everyone with elements in their backstories (i.e ancient kings, secret society formation) being expanded upon by other players (but not invalidating or contradicting) the information already presented?
|
|
#
?
Mar 22, 2019 01:45
|
|
|
Designed with that in mind.
|
|
#
?
Mar 22, 2019 01:49
|
|
|
Yes. Collaboration is fun
|
|
#
?
Mar 22, 2019 01:51
|
|
|
Sounds good.
|
|
#
?
Mar 22, 2019 02:01
|
|
|
Ok sweet!
|
|
#
?
Mar 22, 2019 02:33
|
|
|
Omega Patch https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vZSuXi8Qht0 It was a grim day when the Clockwork Sun failed. So many plans and contingencies had failed for things to become so dire. Few beside the Warforged remembered the sacrifices of their god to maintain a Sun to oppose the shadow. In the end shadow crept into the mechanisms of the stopgap sun, and with a clunk and screaming tear of metal the Age of the Clockwork Sun ended. The explosion sundered parts of the surface world with debris as it fell. Smaller shards fell here and there, some more powerful than others. One tender of the Warforged, one of the "Patch" units, essentially a medic for the constructs, witnessed the new Sun's destruction. As the debris rained down one piece pierced the patch unit's forehead. Its rune was forever altered as the power of the shard fused with its mind. The other remaining Warforged hailed him as Fix's successor once he awoke with strange new power coursing through his being and claiming that he and only he knew the deity of the Clockwork Sun's final commands. In truth Fix had succumbed to hopelessness in the end. All of the backup plans had failed, the world did not improve. To exist was to suffer, and Fix saw this suffering as fruitless. Even as Shadow infiltrated and attempted to corrupt the god's very core it held to its calculating methods. The Sun and Shadow together were but symptoms of this corrupt existence. The last order was simple, let the world fall back into the primal chaos and nothingness from which it came.  "End it. End it All." Constructs +2 - Machines, automatons, their construction and repair was Omega's original purpose. Whatever essence passed from Fix to its Scion raised this skill to the cusp of the divine. Sunset Shard(Psionic +2)- The unique interplay between Light, Shadow, and the permeation of Omega's mind allows for its will to be made manifest. For your People: The Warforged  The monsters began their assault almost as soon as the darkness fell. The Warforged that survived until now made their way back to their creation forges and from there were collected by Omega's army. They did not hide from the monsters, they fought them and sought refuge for repair in fortified positions, often the ruins that had been occupied by the very horrors they had just slain. Unfortunately Fix's final command was taken very literally by the common Warforged and often enough non-monstrous mortals fell to their weapons as well, lest they fall and become monsters themselves. It has earned them a harsh reputation and no allies. None of them can challenge Omega's power, and alone they would be destroyed without hope of repair. Following their god's Scion remains the only way for them to continue to exist to carry out the Last Order. Untiring +2 - The Warforged need little rest, no food, and have strength and stamina in excess of the fleshy mortals. Bloodlust -2 All must end. Monsters, mortals, material and metaphysical existence. Let the last thing left to fall to our swords be ourselves.
|
|
#
?
Mar 22, 2019 19:25
|
|
|
That app looks great, and actually picks up some things I had always wondered about the setting myself.
|
|
#
?
Mar 23, 2019 04:06
|
|
|
The Metal Master You can't kill The Metal The Metal will live on Punk Rock tried to kill The Metal But they failed as they were smite to the ground New Wave tried to kill The Metal But they failed as they were stricken down to the ground Grunge tried to kill The Metal Ha ha ha ha ha They failed, as they were thrown to the ground Ah, yeah Ah, yeah Met-ee-etal-etal, et-ee-etal-etal, et-ee-eh No one can destroy The Metal The Metal will strike you down with a vicious blow We are the vanquished foes of The Metal We tried to win, for why? We do not know New Wave tried to destroy The Metal But The Metal had its way Grunge then tried to dethrone The Metal But Metal was in the way Punk Rock tried to destroy The Metal But Metal was much too strong Techno tried to defile The Metal But Techno was proven wrong Yeah The Master Muse [+2]: The Metal Master makes the masterful muse mainly for many mighty musicians. His very existence in the face of such adversity as he has in his existence is enough for other to persevere and create. The Master Shard [+2]: A shining shard of crystal larger than a man. It has been shaped and hollowed and enchanted and strung with wires. Only The Metal Master may use it to create the sweet music that inflames emotions and passions. The Headbangers Ball  What happens when you get a group of musicians, songwriters, music fans, and a lot of booze and drugs together? A party that never ends. When guided by their muse, the endless concert of epic proportions is a true force to be reckoned with. The Endless Masses [+2]: Where the hell do they all come from? Individually they aren't strong at all, just various lesser races all with instruments or songs or whatever, but they are an endless teeming mass of metalheads and headbangers and they know how to do some damage. Mob Mentality [-2]: You don't control a mob, you just point it in a direction. Despite The Metal Master's influence, The Headbanger's Ball is only as intelligent as its dumbest member, and that guy is a real idiot.
|
|
#
?
Mar 24, 2019 01:51
|
|
|
Ok that app is great
|
|
#
?
Mar 24, 2019 01:54
|
|
|
Interested in trying this. I'll try to get something put together right away.
|
|
#
?
Mar 24, 2019 03:19
|
|
|
Kante, The Greatest of Vanity and the Wildcats of Vauthal I’m too lovely for this. It’s not fair. The world was more beautiful when the sun reigned. Thankfully, in spite of the darkness underground, I have remained beautiful, charming, and powerfully influential. That is in thanks to the small sun shard that I possess, that is now a part of me. I am beautiful and charming and deserve to be praised, but living here in the underground, those things are hard to come by. I take what I can from the graceful and elegant wildcats that I have charmed into serving me. They provide me with attention, affection, and some level of servility. After all, only the best of the best could have a cat serving themselves. And I deserve the best. And that’s just it. This underground living isn’t good enough, now that I’ve finally found my magic mirror that my ancestors had lost. I deserve better. I’ve had enough of this. I’ve seen the world above in my dreams. It’s time for a new era. An era where I can truly be appreciated for who I am: the shapeshifting Kante the Greatest of Vanity. I do not know what I can bring to the fight to restore the world, but I am certain that it is my mission. It is my reason for being as great and flawless as I am. +2 Charm: Limited ability to influence the minds of others, including non-humans +2 The Great Mirror Shard: A flying mirror capable of rapidly transporting three or four people, but you are required to “spruce up” before using it to travel. The Wild Cats of Vauthal  These wild cats are remnants of when the world was beautiful. They may not be as great as the wildcats of old, due to limited breeding, but they are still elegant and powerful hunters. They keep me well fed and in good company. They love me with absolute devotion, as domesticated cats once loved their human companions. But they are not domesticated. They are fierce predators, capable of many great feats. Many. Not all. If they had hands, they could hold doors for me and make me tea. But, I still find them more preferable to human companions, as they are so majestic in nature. Mortal Strength: +2 Hunting Stealthy stalkers who rule the night with their eyes, ears, and noses. And rule the day. And rule the mountains and plains and forests. Some would call them the perfect killing machines, but they mostly only kill to feed their pride or for practice. Mortal Weakness: -2 No Hands My sweet companions simply do not have hands like most intelligent mortals. With enough teamwork, they can try to overcome such limitations, though they will never be able to serve me tea.
|
|
#
?
Mar 25, 2019 01:57
|
|
|
fluffykittys posted:Mortal Weakness: -2 No Hands My sweet companions simply do not have hands like most intelligent mortals. With enough teamwork, they can try to overcome such limitations, though they will never be able to serve me tea. I love this.
|
|
#
?
Mar 25, 2019 17:03
|
|
|
I really like that app
|
|
#
?
Mar 26, 2019 01:58
|
|
|
I am liking these apps as well and not just because all the shard powers could be combined to
|
|
#
?
Mar 26, 2019 05:11
|
|
|
The Librarian I was once a man. And I was content. I traveled the under-roads, and I studied the ancient tablets, the dusty volumes, the brittle scrolls. Trinkets of an age long dead. It was important work, after all! We were preserving the past so that we might have a future, share our knowledge, and help rebuild the world. How naive we were. But then it came to me. The Sun Shard. The Orb. Recovered by some brain-addled Initiate, none of us knew what it was we had found. But when I touched that dark sphere, I felt it awaken under my fingertips. And suddenly I knew. It showed me so many things. From the depths of that sphere, the secrets of the universe poured into me, visions of past, present, and possible futures. Visions of a world born anew, the surface reclaimed. Visions of a world plunged into darkness, full of violence, war, and treachery. But more than this, it showed me... me. Who I was meant to be. Who I had been waiting to be. No longer hidden, but ascendant. And I knew which of those worlds would be mine. From that moment, who I had been was unimportant. I was the Watcher. The Near-and-Far. The Librarian. And my Library was in a truly dreadful state. As for my fellow... colleagues? How they marveled. I had been chosen by the Orb. I had unlocked its secrets. I had mastered its power! They did not understand; I was the power. But I let them believe. I gave them the occasional scrap of knowledge gleaned from the Orb, or from my new understanding of... everything. And I kept close those who wanted more. I rewarded their curiosity. I sated their hunger. I fed them my particular vision of the world, and they ate it up. How could we ever trust outsiders to use our knowledge responsibly? If the day came when we freely share our secrets with the world, how can we be sure they won't turn it against us? Or worse, plunge the world back into chaos and cataclysm? No, better that we keep them to ourselves. And who could disagree? I was the Chosen. I was venerated. Worshiped. With my knowledge and the power of the Orb, our scavengers were more successful than ever before. The more zealous insisted that I should be the one to lead our people. The natural choice. Some, however... disagreed. They said I had corrupted their mission. Perverted their purpose. Nonsense, of course. Still, they were obstinate. In the end, these dissenters conspired among themselves to steal treasured tomes from MY Library, and seek refuge among one of other settlements. They hoped to spread their stolen secrets to as many settlements as they could. But while they might have fooled their peers, they could not hide their plan from me. Their heresy would not be tolerated; the traitors' lives were forfeit, as were those of their sympathizers. We lost good people that day. I even liked some of them. More's the pity. [Secrets +2]: Things that are hidden. Things that are lost. A secret is just an exclusive kind of knowing; one which grows more powerful the less it is shared. [Orb of Sight +2]: A midnight blue sphere of crystal, the Orb is a Sun Shard that was used to gaze out across vast distances and into dark places. Over time, its power grew, allowing it to not only peer through space and flesh and stone, but into hearts and minds as well. More than this, it can send visions to others, showing them what the user wishes them to see. Or take sight away entirely. It is a versatile tool in the right hands  The Lost  A long time ago, the Lost were merely survivors. Refugees from the cataclysm that rocked the surface world, unleashing monsters and disasters upon the population. Chaotic magics ravaged the land, inflicting some sort of strange, metamorphic condition on them and driving them far underground to escape that danger. They delved deep in search of safety, until they came upon the Ancient Library; a storehouse of knowledge built by a culture long dead, its shelves filled with nothing but dust. Inspired by their discovery, they made their home in its empty halls, and began to collect what little knowledge could be salvaged from the surface. In the spirit of the library which sheltered them from the dangers around them, they intended to preserve this knowledge in the hope of a better future. Saving it so that those who would come after might be able to use it to pick up the pieces with the benefit of knowing what came before. To learn from the past, and avoid its mistakes. Though their curse progressed until they were no longer truly human, they clung to their last connection to the old world. So they gathered. They collected. And their new gift proved more useful than they could have hoped. Over the generations, they amassed a modest treasure trove of knowledge. They had become Scholars. At least, until the Orb was discovered. No one had ever seen anything like it. A perfect sphere of midnight blue crystal. The scavenger who returned with it could not say where he had found it. Could not remember when, or how he had recovered it. Still, it was clearly a relic of some kind or another, and thus worth preserving. By chance or by fate, one of the Scribes somehow succeeded in awakening the Orb. It showed him many things, places both near and far, and places between. The experience changed the Scribe, whose name is now lost. From that transformative moment onward, he was simply the Librarian. He knew things. Things no one could know. He saw things no one could see. Awe turned into admiration, which in turn became adulation. Those close to him were rewarded with information others weren't privy to; untouched ruins, where to find salvage, and even secrets regarding their peers. More concerning, however, was the Librarian's increasingly possessive attitude toward knowledge and the secrets they had collected. An attitude that infected his followers. Soon, he held sway over the majority of the Scholars, and was given ultimate authority over the sanctuary. This did not sit well with everyone, however. While the Librarian increasingly preached the Virtues of Secrecy to his growing Cult, some among the Scholars decided to things had reached a tipping point. It was in those dissenters that the seeds of conspiracy took root, and from them spread to others not yet convinced of the Librarian's wisdom and insight. Meeting in secret and communicating with one another in code, the members of the Conspiracy planned to leave the Library, taking with them as many records and relics as they each could carry. If the Librarian wanted to hoard knowledge, then they felt it was their duty to spread it as far and as widely as possible. They began to quietly remove what they considered to be key records and relics, setting them aside in preparation for the day they would flee the Library forever. Éxcept there was no keeping secrets from the Librarian. Their plot was as plain to him as if they had written it upon their faces. He had watched them. He had seen them. He knew each and every one of them, and all those who sympathized with their heresy. And so, the night before the Conspirators were set to flee, the Librarian gathered his most zealous and most trusted followers to him. He told them of their fellows plans, and of their sacrilege. How they stole from the Library. How they planned to flee and never return. And how this must not be allowed to happen. Then he swore them all to secrecy, never to speak of what had to be done. Before the night was over, two dozen people vanished from their beds, their bodies never to be found. In the morning, the congregation was told that the missing people had fled in the night, and that they had abandoned the Library's mission. Under the pretense of recovering the stolen records and relics and bringing the conspirators to justice, the Librarian began to guide his followers toward more aggressive acts of espionage against other settlements, all in the name of recovering what was lost. Such a betrayal could not be allowed to happen again, after all. [Mimics +2]: The Lost are the ultimate chameleon; capable of not only blending in with their surroundings, but of mimicking people in appearance, personality, and ability. [Uninventive -2]: The Lost have difficulty inventing new things, and rely on stealing and adapting ideas and devices rather than creating new things themselves. Rhjamiz fucked around with this message at 14:48 on Mar 30, 2019 |
|
#
?
Mar 27, 2019 09:59
|
|
|
Moirb, Queen of Ants A queen ant lands on the ground. She is freshly mated, done with her nuptial flight, and looking for a place to start a home. It doesn’t really matter to her that the world was ending, or did it already end? She didn’t know, because she was an ant, and ants are far too busy to worry about the philosophy of Armageddon. She crawls around on the surface for a moment looking for a break in the soil and in the process trundles over a great many things, including a couple of leaves, a stick, and a Godly Artifact of Unfathomable Power. “That’s odd,” Moirb thinks to herself. “Why would somebody leave a Godly Artifact of Unfathomable Power on the ground?” This thought is followed very soon after by a great number of very distressing and metaphysical thought branches relating to the concept of self identity that are quite unnecessary to list here, so let us simply state that the queen ant names herself Moirb, and declared herself Queen of all Ants, Even the Ones Over There, and now lives underground among her many ant children who unlike most ants are sapient and revere her as a God. Moirb named her people the Earthtenders, and revealed to them the great visions that the Crepuscular Diadem had given her: that the sky should not always be as dark as the tunnel of their Kingdom Below, that other beings had been forced into the depths unnaturally, and that the great purpose of ant-kind was to gather power beyond reckoning, nurture a new Sun, and build a great mound up into the heavens so they could roll their creation into the Sky. Metamorphosis [+2]- Put simply, the ability to change the nature of a thing. More drastic changes are more difficult. Crepuscular Diadem [+2]- This artifact of the Sun manifests itself as a crown of light beams. With it, one can possess the body of an ally and supercharge their natural abilities. The possessed being also displays a manifestation of the Diadem, it’s glorious radiance a challenge to all who oppose it. After the possession is voluntarily terminated, the body is a lifeless husk- all vital energy being used up to support the process. Limit one possession at a time. The Earthtenders  The Earthtenders are a colony of fungus farming, leaf cutting ants that have been specially raised by a Queen who gained sapience after a chance encounter with a Sun Shard. Other than the sapience the power of the Queen has gifted them, the Earthtenders are just regular ants. They live underground, both literally and figuratively beneath the notice of most of the monsters that roam the surface, although there are still issues like the exoskeletal undead spiders and 4 headed chaos anteaters. They do suffer from a rather unique “weakness” (although they do not consider it such); in order to preserve eusocial ant structure while also being fully sapient, the Queen created them to be naturally trustworthy and willing to help. As such they are gullible and easy to deceive. Ants! [+2]- The Earthtenders are ants! They are extraordinarily strong (proportional to their size), eusocial, work exceptionally well together, are morphologically bred for specific tasks. These traits are great for general Ant-ing, and made even more powerful now that they are directed by sapience. Innocence [-2]- The Earthtenders are (super)naturally trusting beings. They have no concept of falsehoods, and readily respond to any and all requests for aid because that is obviously what good and upstanding thinking creatures do.
|
|
#
?
Mar 27, 2019 18:45
|
|
|
Vaethar the Wise and Gentle There are very few places of relative peace and quietude on Vauthal, what with the rise and fall of empires, the shattering of suns, the hordes of undead and other near-constant cataclysms. Only those who were forgotten, who were buried deep, or who were not worth remembering, had a chance to survive. The cavern of Esselis was nearly inaccessible, easily overlooked, and the majority of apex species in the midst of their glory years beneath the unbroken suns thought nothing of what might live there.  The creatures of Esselis, Esselians, lived idyllic if primitive lives, developing a strongly cooperative, inclusive culture that had the effect of uplifting lesser fauna until none could say which was truly the leading type. Some resembled ursines, some equines, some had no resemblance to the surface species of old save for their bipedal, four-limbed, symmetrical nature. A process of mutual domestication drew in claws, blunted teeth, and softened fur and hides, resulting in some of the most placid, peaceful and friendly sophonts on this world of conflict and violent upheaval. One such Esselian of the ursine type was a simple forager by the name of Vaethar, doing his part to gather up succulent roots and tubers, sweet berries and divine shards of phenomenal power for the collective tribe. That last one was a bit of an oddity, an eternally glowing blue sphere nestled amongst the dahlias, but upon touching it, all the world changed. Knowledge, visions and wisdom flooded in, revealing the history of Vauthal in all its wonder and tragedy. Kingdoms, wars, the petty cruelties of envious gods. A sun, brilliant and beautiful, source of light and hope, shining upon an age of wonders before being shattered. A sun, intricate and baroque, with delicate and precise mechanisms ranging from smaller than the thickness of a hair to grander than all of Esselis many times over, but vandalised, crippled and scrapped on the whims of cold-hearted and cruel magi and shadow-things. An endless horde of restless dead covering the surface, slaughtering the innocent and the guilty alike. Patches of light and life across the world ever shrinking, ever retreating. Vaethar wept and wailed as he was assailed by horrors so much worse than any that lived in this idyllic utopia had ever had to confront before. but in amidst it all, through all the terror and despair, there was a warmth, a compassion that called to him, that comforted him. Yes, there was pain and suffering on an unimaginable scale, but there was hope, kindness, selflessness as well. Working together against the darkness to live and thrive. A message, a gospel of life and love that needed to be spread, and it had to start from here. Vaethar touched his walking stick to the shard and it grew around the stellar fragment, cradling it in revitalised wood. He returned to the central encampment and all fell silent at his approach, captivated by the brilliance of the divine artifact. But into that silence, in the light of the crystal, Vaethar found himself able to share the comfort he had received, a mutual understanding blazing from Esselian to Esselian. Light began radiating from each of them, binding them all in a spiritual communion, a touching of souls that was, for a moment, an eternity of true paradise. The light dimmed to a manageable level, and the people rushed forward to embrace their new avatar-champion. +2 Life - Touched by the divine, power was granted to Vaethar to enable growth, to heal, to revitalize. To bring a healthy crop from barren soil, even to restore vitality to that which has been shorn of it. Death need hold no sway over Esselis. The Staff of Compassion +2 - This powerful artifact of the blue sun enables a level of understanding between disparate peoples on a divinely fundamental level, their hopes and dreams, their joys and sorrows, why they are as they are. It becomes next to impossible when touched by the warmth and light it radiates to see those similarly touched as 'Other', as 'Them', rather than as 'We' and 'Us'. Prejudices wither in the face of sublime truth, misconceptions and misunderstandings are illuminated and replaced with clarity, all impediments to unity, cooperation and mutual beneficence are resolved as much as they can be. Disagreements are still possible, but with them comes a total comprehension of the other's point of view and why they approach the matter as they do. In sufficiently large numbers, those touched by the light of the staff and working together can invoke the light they were given in order to touch others with it anew. The Esselians    As outlined above, Esselians are a diverse if fairly primitive lot, open and accepting, generally small of stature compared to the surface races that were. Physically they are as close to harmless as a sapient species cluster can get, nature stripped of teeth and claws. if Esselis was a little easier to get to, if anyone had thought anything of value was there, then they would have gone the way of the dodo before you could say 'outside context problem'. As it is, they got lucky, really, really lucky. Now, having been touched with the light of understanding, they are far more willing to venture out from their place of refuge at the behest of Vaethar, to spread the truth of compassion and to let others know their blissful communion. Cooperation +2 – Even before Vaethar retrieved the Staff of Compassion, Esselian society was built around helping one another for the good of all. Esselians together in unity are capable of feats that larger races might not have imagined them remotely able to attempt, not to mention their ability to spread the light of understanding in sufficient numbers. (Fortunately for their hopes of not getting wiped out as soon as they emerge, it turns out the light of understanding is really effective against undead.) Individually Harmless -2 No teeth, no claws, no sharp edges, the average Esselian would be hard-pressed to bruise fruit, let alone cause any kind of actual physical injury to another living creature. Having no natural defences and being physically incapable to engage in unarmed combat makes them potentially easy prey.
|
|
#
?
Mar 30, 2019 14:08
|
|
|
I really like good characters in this bleak setting.
|
|
#
?
Apr 1, 2019 04:34
|
|
|
Alright, so officially, the picks are in (it’s everyone that apped): Callisto/Knights of the Fallen Flame – I Am Communist Hibiscus/Zrazz – Not Alex Hekfrest/The Confederacy of the Towers – Speleothing Omega Patch/The Warforged – JamezBfod The Metal Master/The Headbangers Ball - Deadmeat5150 Kante/The Wild Cats of Vauthal – fluffykittys The Librarian/The Lost – Rhjamiz Moirb/The Earthtenders – GruntyThrst Vaethar/The Esselians – AJ_Impy So now that the pics are officially in, I’d like just a little bit of information to set you up with some direction from the getgo, as well as getting some preference in play style since the first few posts will guide your actions for a bit. You get one of three choices of what type of enemy situation, so choose between: Sandbox – The Enemies in this area are immensely powerful but largely keep to themselves until you step on toes. Think of building up to fight dragons. Normal – The Enemies in this area are largely ineffective but resilient, but prone to annoying everyone around them (think constantly interacting them with them once your presence is made known/interfering with plans, etc). Conquest – If you want a map painting game of force projection, fight a collected and organized foe with immense power that is randomly available to be projected, pick this one. After you pick one of those three options, please rank what priority your people have, 1-3, 1 being the highest priority: Protection – Your overall security/safety of your initial starting position Supplies – How much food/oil/energy chunks do your people have, and how dire their starting situation is Stealth – This is how hidden your people are from the world above; if this is ranked low you are asking me to invite intruders or other interlopers that much quicker (note this is independent of the gameplay setting you chose above) Keep in mind these are just your starting situations so if you find a magic portal that goes to Planet of Crushing and then go through the portal your gameplay experience may be different than what you initially set up.
|
|
#
?
Apr 1, 2019 04:35
|
|
|
Sandbox 1 Supplies 2 Protection 3 Stealth The Zrazz were chased underground by an overwhelming power. The Dripping Caverns are fairly defensible and Hibiscus's sanctuary awaits the beleaguered serpentfolk.
|
|
#
?
Apr 1, 2019 07:16
|
|
|
Conquest - I have thoughts on this. Supplies - The world is a junk pile. The only thing more prevalent than raw materials for constructs and weapons are raw materials for undead. Protection - Besides a good offense, the Warforged are known for hunkering down in old fortifications or assembling new ones for dedicated repair periods. Stealth - An army of Terminators laying waste to everything they find is hard to miss.
|
|
#
?
Apr 1, 2019 10:42
|
|
|
Normal seems the most natural fit. Direct confrontation leads to the Light of Understanding, but interference with singular Esselians and subcritical groups keeps things ticking over nicely, plus given the one size fits all resolution tool, this should provide a steady stream of new Esselians. 1. Supplies: Esselis is an abundant idyll, and the Esselians are very efficient at making best use of what they have together. 2. Stealth: Until the Esselians started venturing forth this was top of the list by a distance. Now that they're on the map, following them home is an option. 3. Protection Which is an issue since going under the radar was their main reason for survival. If people know they're there and know how to get in, there are no real impediments otherwise.
|
|
#
?
Apr 1, 2019 13:06
|
|
|
Normal 1. Stealth: Because the Confederacy uses portals to access the outside world and travel, they will be difficult to track down. 2. Supplies: They are not running dangerously low on anything. But have no real surpluses either. Exploring the outside now means preventing a crisis in 10 or 20 years. 3. Protection: Without the sunshard drawing in hurricanes, the Towers will be vulnerable to besieging armies. Also, the people inside do not want war.
|
|
#
?
Apr 1, 2019 14:39
|
|
|
Sandbox 1. Stealth 2. Protection 3. Supplies The Forgotten Library is well hidden and The Lost are deceptively capable, but we've got a lot of books and trinkets and not much else. Time to seek out new cultures and exploit them.
|
|
#
?
Apr 1, 2019 16:08
|
|
|
Normal 1. Stealth 2. Supplies 3. Protection gonna be a lot of nascent empires fueled by god-kings coming out of nowhere in this game
|
|
#
?
Apr 1, 2019 16:21
|
|
|
Conquest Supplies: It takes a lot to keep a party like this going. Where is it all coming from? Protection: Security is provides by the biggest and baddest bastards of the bunch. And it takes a lot to keep the crowds in line. Stealth: HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!  
|
|
#
?
Apr 1, 2019 17:17
|
|
|
Conquest     The Darnoc Clan are a fierce nomadic people roaming the lands as they see fit. Raiding and taking what they want, when they want. Their leader Master Abominous McCool-ice has made demands on the outlying settlements and more than a few remote communities have vanished overnight. Brutish and riding strange contraptions of metal and chrome that are only slightly faster than the warhorses of the Knights. They are a mobile and numerous foe with quite a footprint spread over the land. Protection – 1: goes with her people's theme Supplies – 3: just taking back the land so starting out. Stealth – 2: not a large enough surface presence and taking care to explore and expand slowly. I am Communist fucked around with this message at 18:08 on Apr 1, 2019 |
|
#
?
Apr 1, 2019 17:37
|
|
|
Sandbox 1-Supplies- I can’t imagine being seen above ground without first having a full facial and manicure 2-Stealth- to be honest, I’m not so great at NOT standing out, but with the support of my trusty felines, I do better than one would expect 3-Protection- the world is a dangerous place. I just hope I have time for tea before trying to save the world.
|
|
#
?
Apr 2, 2019 00:52
|
|
|
Gamethread Games up!
|
|
#
?
Apr 6, 2019 18:11
|
|
|
Clarifications (Probably Incomplete) Posting Format and Example Character Name – Location (0/3) Flavor text OOC Text with the Action your character is taking with domains being used and/or banked Bonus Points used from previously invoking your faction weaknesses, clarifications etc. Faction Name Flavor Text for the elements of the Faction you are using this turn. OOC Text with the Action(s) the elements of your faction are taking, along with your main faction action. ------- Character Sheet X Y Z This is mostly just so you have an easy means to show to me what you have at your disposal; it’ll help you out in the long run if you keep this updated as I’ll probably forget about things from time to time; having it on most of your posts will make it easy to see! Example Post Shark Man – Underground Laboratory (1/3) Shark Man sighs as he draws his katana, and attacks the sponge-like creature. Using Sighing Katana +2 to attack the sponge to chop the bits off, and 1 banked +2 from a previous invoked Faction Weakness. Turtle Men The Turtlemen Boxer Battalion advances on the coral reef monsters, and the Turtlemen Pizza Car goes to investigate the scene of the Brooklyn breakdancers. Sending the Turtlemen Boxers as above, but adding the Turtleman Faction +2 Loves Pizza for the breakdancer action on the turtleman Pizza Car. Character Sheet [/i]Turtlemen Boxer Battalion Turtlemen Pizza Car Pile of Plastic Toys +2[/i]
|
|
#
?
Apr 15, 2019 05:12
|
|
|
Ok so here is a quick and dirty guide to actions, what things you can do, etc. Your Character Can do 1 Action and/or Move to a Spot a post. Both of your qualities that you wield are Divine, and as such trump mortal qualities that Factions and most NPC interactions will have (unless otherwise noted). Of particular note, using your character’s divine qualities to try and create a divine qualitied object (+0, +2, etc) will take many turns of investment (or fate). You can also, with your divine qualities, create or alter mortal quality elements within your faction, either buffing an existing element from an inherent +0 to something higher (think turning twig armor into chainmail) or by adding a new element (scout bees). The exception is that you can create a +1 Prophet that acts at Divine Qualities for your Faction (as Deadmeat has done and I’m retconning it so that it makes sense). Make sure you indicate this element as PROPHET/PRIEST or some other distinguishable title on your character sheet section for your faction. Your Faction At the start of the game, your faction has its mortal quality and its foible, and of course the assumed force of its own existence. Your faction can do as many actions as it has elements, or a minimum of 1 per post (as you have no elements starting out). You can use your mortal quality/foible toward any 1 or 2 actions (if you use both that post) that any of your elements attempt. For example, if the Turtle People have Ninja Assassins, Ninja Pizza People, and Exploding Sharks, your Faction could do 3 actions that post, using your Faction’s mortal quality for 1 of those actions and using your Faction’s foible for 1 of those actions. Factions can create elements, but only by using the main Faction mortal quality (so as to prevent faction elements that create faction elements over and over and over exponentially). They can provide temporary boosts to individual elements. This is a work in progress and will be confusing as crap until its ironed out but hopefully it will provide some standardization because I’m going to be making it up as I go along.
|
|
#
?
Apr 15, 2019 05:13
|
|
|
Ok so here's the microscope rules. Basically, each person will be making a post that is either a: Period - A period of time that can cover decades/centuries, could be a couple of sentences up to a paragraph basically that gives a broad overview of a large chunk of time. OR An Event - Events are specific things that happened inside of a period (like a prince seizing a throne or a colony ship arriving on a new world) In the Period or [/u]Event[/u] you'll also indicate if the Tone is Light or Dark (along with a brief snippet of why overall you decided that, as a player). So basically, when you post a Period, you'll say which Periods it takes place between, and if you post an Event, you'll say which Period its in, and if there's multiple Events where it is placed between those too. Confusing? Good! It will get slightly more complicated as we post. I'm posting too! It will be fun!
|
|
#
?
Apr 22, 2019 07:21
|
|
|
So starting off, the Bookend Periods, no microscope posts will be outside of the scope of these; for that reason, you should stick to having a particular character exist actively on only 1 period; due to the nature of the ever expanding time between 2 particular periods it could get very very confusing having a character exist for thousands of years and die over and over. Bookend - The Shattering of the Clockwork Sun The period of time where the Clockwork Sun, the replacement to the Blue Sun of Erindur, exploded, leaving the land in darkness; this period covers an extensive amount of time where damage and debris from the uncountable amounts of chunks rained down on Vauthal's many surfaces and caused untold devastation. This is overall a Dark Period, both metaphorically and physically. Bookend - The Undead Empire Triumpherate Collapses Be it from war/meat famine/undead disease, the massive Undead Triumpherate began to shake at its foundations; this period covers the many dynamic events of that collapse. This is overall Light, as it eventually (outside of the scope of this game) paves the way to your characters' ascensions.
|
|
#
?
Apr 22, 2019 07:29
|
|
|
Now as the example post that you guys will make, but using it as my actual post: I am creating a Period between the two bookends, called The Rise of the City of Light, wherein the surviving races create, with mysterious elemental magics, a city of wonder within the darkness known as the City of Light. This period covers the innovations and triumphs that were needed for this to occur. This is overall Light, because of the hope that it brought those that experienced it. Then, what I will do is as these posts come in, I will update one of the OP posts in the gamethread with the proper ordering so as to avoid confusion!
|
|
#
?
Apr 22, 2019 07:34
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 25, 2024 12:11 |
|
|
I am creating a Period close to the Shattering of the Clockwork Sun bookend, called The Dawn of Clockwork Technomancy. In this time, the rain of debris from the Clockwork Sun ceases to be a daily existential threat, and the survivors exploring the fallen wreckage begin to learn to harness its power. This period covers the rebirth of civilisation using the detritus of the fall, and the wondrous things learned in that time. This is a period transitioning into light and getting brighter.
|
|
#
?
Apr 22, 2019 12:11
|
|