Basics

As a god you are one of the most powerful beings in existence. As such you benefit from a few advantages that set you apart from mortals.

Celestial Body

Gods are largely more resilient then mortals regardless of their Resilience attribute. They cannot contract mundane diseases, heal from wounds faster, and fatigue more slowly. When in PUBLIC Realms they also do not need to eat, drink, sleep, or breathe as they are in their fully divine forms.

Magical and theurgic effects still operate as normal on gods, although magical effects must overcome a threshold established by the god's Will + any relevant Skill they may posses.

Paradox

Paradox is the ability for a god to appear in more than one place at once. This ability is restricted only by the status of the realm that the god wishes to be in. In game terms, a God may appear in as many THREAD REALMS as he wishes, but no more than one instance may exist per thread.

Realm Status

PERSONAL REALM: The personal Realm of a god. You cannot paradox into the realm of another god without their permission. Attempts to do so simply fail. To travel into another Gods realm you must find a gate that will allow you to travel to this realm by physically traversing through it. Note that these gates are usually hidden and/or guarded on both sides of the gate. Gods do not look well onto those that dare to enter their realms uninvited.

PUBLIC REALM: A realm which has no god and is considered the equal domain of all divine beings. Gods may have as many instances as they desire within realms of this nature although they may not have multiple instances within the same Realm. Paradox allows divine beings to travel freely and near instantaneously through these realms. The Halls of Calmorin are an example of a Public Realm.

SECRET REALM: A realm of this nature is hidden from casual intrusion, often sealed behind ancient theurgic powers and eldritch forces. When an entrance is uncovered to these Realms a god may paradox into the realm but can only have 1 instance in a realm of this nature.

LOST REALM: A lost realm is an alien world which has been thrust from the protective birth-womb of Creation. Travel to lost realms is hazardous and often difficult as all other instances of a god cease to exist until they return to Creation, often through means that are not Paradox.

A god must maintain at least 1 instance at all times. Attempts to remove your last instance simply fail. A god is assumed to be of one body while Paradoxed across Realms. Knowledge, Souls, and Distilled Aspects/Natures gained by any instance become available to all instances.

If a god creates an Artifice item or Invokes a Monster they exist only in that Realm and must be brought across through Portals or equipped to an available Artifice Slot.

It is important to note that damage suffered, including reductions to Aura, are shared across instances. Spell uses, however, are not. Instead no magical effect not instilled into an item is simply lost. This is regardless of duration or Rank.

Realm Authority

A God is the supreme authority within their Realm. While truly grand efforts will require magic or theurgy, there are many things that a god can perform with concentration and focus although the time varies depending on the alteration.

- Alter weather (minutes to hours)
- Alter landmasses (days to weeks)
- Alter your people while in your Realm. (weeks to months)
- Create portals to other realms by which to travel, or create a portal to your realm which other gods may enter or exit. (instantaneous)
- Sense the presence of other divinities although not their location. (passive)

It is important to note that alterations to ones Chosen cannot grant them abilities or skills but it can change their form, behavior, or inherent nature. A species of sea-dwellers can be made to be amphibious but they cannot be made to summon storms.

Divine Senses

A god can identify the Rank, Aspects, and Nature of a Monster with a single glance. This does not reveal Attributes or Skills although this can be overcome with the appropriate divination spell or ability.

A god can also identify the Chosen of any god at a glance. If they have meet the god before then they recognize their signature on their souls, otherwise they simply get an impression of their primary domain.

Triplet Existence

A god has three lives to live. When killed they return to the primordial dream-realm where gods are birthed until they can reconstitute and resurrect. With each death they are weakened on an essential level until they can no longer reconstitute themselves and their identities are lost forever.

This is the cycle of creation and destruction, birth and death. With the passing of a god into Final Death their Realm will begin to wither and perish before ceasing to exist all together unless passed to an Heir. Those souls unbound to a Paradise will be lost to the steady entropy of the Abyss or consumed by fleeing monsters and alien forces.

Time

Note that time runs differently upon each realm. While a minute may pass in one realm, a week or even years may pass in another.

In game terms, it means that each instance of yourself exists in REAL TIME of the other. So if in your own realm you are walking for weeks to go to one place or another yet in the Halls of the Gods you are talking with another god, both are happening at the SAME TIME. So time is fluid and no one can be acting ahead of another since time, for the gods, is the same at all time: it is happening in the immediate.
This message was last edited by the GM at 01:56, Tue 23 July 2019.

Souls

Souls are the key resource of all gods. Nearly all actions are fueled by the use of souls and their consumption. Souls are divided into three categories:

Minor Souls - Motes of pure spiritual energy that are released when a being dies. These souls lack Aspects and Natures but are the most abundant type of soul. These souls are consumed to fuel a God's major abilities, alterations through Realm Authority, and when empowering magical items.

The primary gain of souls is passive. As a God you will gain 100 Souls each week (real time) and may obtain bonus souls in increments of 25 for outstanding roleplay or completing major objectives. As you grow in strength your passive soul collection will increase,  although there are means of augmenting this.

Another method of gaining minor souls is to kill monsters. When a monster is slain it releases a quantity of souls relative to its Rank. Please reference the monster section for further details.

Monster Souls - Monster Souls are souls which are obtained from the death of monsters. Their souls contain the Aspects and Nature of the monster they originally belong to. Monster Souls have several uses.

The first is simply the dissolution of the soul to obtain further Minor Souls and the distilled Essence of some of its Aspects and Nature. The second is to bind the soul to yourself as your Familiar. You may have one such Familiar at any given time. Familiars can be summoned to your side at will and if killed will resurrect after 1 day (game time) so long as you are alive. Familiars may also Paradox with their bound deity but only one instance of the Familiar may exist at the same time. Finally the soul can be used to craft items or augmented. Please reference the Animancy and Artifice section for further details.

Chosen Souls - Chosen Souls are the souls of a god's chosen species. These Souls possess the memories and identities of the person they belonged to. Without a Paradise these souls will linger around the god, their fate linked to their survival. If a Paradise exists then the souls will travel to that location and be re-born as the god has dictated. If a god  suffers final death then those souls outside of a Paradise are lost forever but those within continue on indefinitely.

Soul Consumption

As previously mentioned souls, more accurately Minor Souls, are consumed to fuel various abilities. Below is a summary of some of the costs.

Major Ability - 25 Souls
Minor Ability - 10 Souls
Alter Weather - 10 Souls or more
Alter Landmass - 50 Souls or more
Alter Species - 100 Souls or more
Improve Units - 50 to 100 Souls
Open Portal - 100 Souls/Hour
Rituals - 100 Souls
Theurgy - 250 Souls
Animancy (Fusion) - 150 + 150/Rank
Animancy (Alteration) - 200/Quality
Animancy (Genesis) - Varies/Rank
Create Artifice Item - 125 Souls

Monsters

Monster is a general term for the beings which inhabit the various Realms that were not created directly by the god. They are instead forged of chaos and within their souls are the bound up remnants of Creation. Seeking to fuel themselves and their powers they subsist on the souls of other monsters and the Chosen. They are often aggressive and simple-minded although more powerful monsters may demonstrate intelligence and even motivations beyond simple survival.

However, Gods should not be lead astray by this as monsters are incomplete beings whose chaotic souls must subsist on the souls of other beings. That, however, does not prevent a god from showing mercy or favoritism to certain beings and some gods have even allowed monsters into their paradises where their souls are made stable by the constant influx of spiritual power.

Aspects

Aspects are qualities of a Monster which largely define its form and behavior. A massive hydra-like monster might have Aquatic, Serpent, and Dire as Aspects to represent their habitat, form, and size respectively. Aspects are powerful as they can be bound to items using Artifice and bestow those qualities to the bound item or wielder.

Nature

Nature is the essential essence of a creature and gives it Power. As in the previous example a hydra is likely to have a Water and Poison Nature to represent its prodigious command of currents and ability to vomit forth streams of poison. Natures are powerful because they can be bound to items using Artifice to give the item that nature.

Please refer to the Bestiary thread for further information

Rank

Each Monster has a Rank which shows its relative strength. Ranks go from 0 to 5 with each rank being roughly twice as strong as the previous, although Attributes and Skills may offset this one way or the other. Below are some examples of Monsters for each Rank.

Rank 0: Slime
Rank 1: Goblin
Rank 2: Ogre Berseker
Rank 3: Fire Dragon
Rank 4: Soulflayer
Rank 5: Demigods

As a general rule of thumb no Monster will have a Skill higher than Rank + 1 or an Attribute of Rank + 2.

A Rank 0 Monster is mostly a nuisance, Rank 1 Monsters are potential lethal in large numbers but easy to kill, Rank 2 is a challenge for young gods and begin to demonstrate impressive abilities, Rank 3 is potentially fatal for young gods and often have well distinguished powers, Rank 4 is generally outright lethal to a young god and is a challenge even for mid-tier gods, and finally Rank 5 monsters are demigods in their own rights.

Monster Death

On the death of a monster it releases Minor Souls relative to its Rank. If the souls is broken down then it provides an additional amount of Minor Souls and some number of Aspects and Natures up to the maximum they posses. These Aspects and Natures are obtained at random.


This message was last edited by the GM at 23:42, Thu 07 Mar 2019.

Realms

Each Realm has 5 Provinces. At the beginning of the game the god will have control over 1 Province which will contain a majority of their race. This province will still be under dispute as they will need to ensure their land is free of anyone or anything that would oppose their rule.

Each of the 4 other provinces will need to be put under the god's control through various means. For each province that is brought under their command they will increase in Divine Rank. Once they have claimed command of all 5 Provinces their Rank cannot increase without performing grand deeds in other Realms.

Each Province will provide a bonus to the god for having it under their command. These bonuses can be, but are not limited to:

- Increase passive Soul gain by 100 (automatic for every Province Controlled)
- Decrease Soul Consumption of X action
- Increase Minor Soul gain by 25%, rounded up
- Increase Aspect and Nature gain by +1
- Gain 2 Minor Powers
- Gain 1 Major Power
- Gain access to a Secret Realm
- Gain 1 secret of Creation
- Gain access to 1 theurgy power
- Gain 1 Rank 5 Monster Soul
- Gain Paradise Seed

The reward gained by controlling a Province will be relative to the order in which the Province is liberated.

Example: The first province brought under your control is likely to provide one or the first three bonuses listed where as the last province may provide one of the last three bonuses listed.

With each Province under the god's command the other Provinces become more difficult to gain. The Monsters in the region have been given time to feast and grow more powerful, to organize and build, and even rally the support of outside forces and entities.

Advancement

When major objectives, such as the control of a Province, are accomplished a god increases in Divine Rank. These Ranks provide attribute and skill improvements,some bonus, and at certain thresholds provide Titles to reflect their increased power. Detailed below are the ranks, titles, improvements, and benefits.




Benefits

Special Ability: As a God you gain a special ability. This special ability is innate and requires no Minor Souls to activate. It is not as powerful as a Divine Power yet should be a reflection of your Gods being, based on his actions/way of thinking.

Resistance: You are now resistant to some source of harm. Subtract your Rank from any damage that you would suffer from this source. Sources should be limited (blades, fire, etc.)

Honor Guard: Your divine power has reached out and ceased fragments of Creation, molding them into a group of warriors whose loyalties are absolute and powers are reflective of their god. These units are considered Elite and are treated as if they possess Natures the same as your Domains. They also gain 1 ability for each of your Domains. If such a unit exists already elevate them to the appropriate status and refund any Souls spent in their advancement.

Hero: Your divine power reaches out once more and forges a Hero. Possessing powers as if a demigod, a hero is your mortal instrument in which to exact your will. They are treated as if a Rank 5 monster whose Natures are the same as your Domains and gain up to 3 Aspects of your choosing (based on what you have gathered in the past). If an existing being is elevated to the status of Hero they can gain Aspects up to 3 and they gain your Domains in addition to any Nature they previously possessed up to a maximum of 4. Refund the cost of any improvements and gain 1 ability for each Nature possessed, excluding any that were already possessed.

Mastery: You have reached the end of your path and with it has come mastery of your class. You gain a +3 bonus to some application or exertion of your power. An example mastery may be pyromancy for envoker, riding for knight, and artifice for blacksmith.

Heir: You have amassed enough power to spawn a new god. Your Heir inherits a primary domain related to your own and a secondary domain of the GM's choosing. This new Heir does not have their own Realm but can forge one using a Paradise Seed. If you experience final death you may continue the game as your Heir who inherits all that you possess.
This message was last edited by the GM at 00:04, Wed 24 July 2019.

Vitality

A being has a number of Health Points equal to 5 + (5 * Resilience), with each God beginning with a minimum 10 HP. When injured, HP is reduced by a factor equal to the Damage - any armor that the god may be wearing or in the case of magical defenses, shielded by. If a god is reduced to 0 HP they are unconscious and considered dying. If they suffer further harm, reducing them to -5 or lower HP they are dead and lose one of their lives until they experience Final Death.

Aramanth

If a God is dying (between 0 and -4 inclusively) you may decide to do Aramanth upon them. By drinking your opponent god’s blood as the final blow, thus draining their life, you gain 25% of their minor souls that they have at that moment once they die as well as gain 1 in Divine Rank (while lowering the God who died by 1 Divine Rank).

Note that Aramanth is dealt at a rate of 1 HP damage per round of action (shielding has no effect upon this).

This act defiles the god doing Amaranth and they gain a Corruption. Corruptions are both boon and curse as they give the god some special ability but also a weakness.

Example: Sabris, the Mad God of Beasts. Corruption - Feral: The possessor is no longer effected by abilities that would target their Will. In return they cannot recognize friend from foe, attacking Chosen Units, bound Monsters, and allied gods once they begin fighting.

If Aramanth is done upon the final life of a God, then the remaining souls the God had are taken in full by the God that is doing Aramanth, as well as any accumulated Monster Souls, Natures and Aspects that the God had accumulated and not used.

Healing

A god  heals 1 HP each day (game time) per point in Resilience regardless of their activity. If a god is reduced to negative HP but is not dead they will recover to 0 HP within an hour (game time) and then begin healing at the usual rate. This rate can be augmented by abilities and magical items.

Monsters heal at rate of 1 HP/Resilience/Day (game time) but only while resting. If active this rate is cut in half, rounded down to a minimum of 0. Chosen heal 1 HP/Resilience/Week (game time) although this doubles if resting. Advanced and Elite Units heal as if Monsters of equivalent Resilience.

Aura

Every god is shrouded in a sphere of invisible divine power. This shroud acts as a dampener to any damage that would be dealt to the god. The strength of a god's Aura is equal to their Essence plus their Divine Rank and reduces damage by that value before being further reduced by armor. Certain items can augment the efficiency of an Aura and even bestow it special effects. Attacks which are equal to or greater than the Aura reduce its power by 1 until it is allowed to regenerate, often at a rate of 1 per 5 minutes (game time). Lesser attacks also reduce a god's Aura but at a rate of 3 attacks per 1 Aura reduced.

Even an unconscious and dying god benefits from their Aura.

Diseases and Ailments

Diseases of mundane nature have no sway over gods but magical and theurgic afflictions do. If a diseases threshold value is higher then the god's Resilience, or Will (depending on the disease, plus any relevant skills or abilities) it takes hold. Diseases normally impart some negative condition which lasts until it is cured or otherwise removed.

Magical diseases last a number of days equal to their threshold while theurgy lasts indefinitely until removed by an equal or greater power.

Ailments, unlike diseases, affect gods equally. These ailments are often bodily conditions such as starvation, thirst, confusion, etc. An Ailment takes hold if the gods Resilience or Will is lower than the threshold and lasts until remedied in some fashion.

Ailments by their nature can increase in intensity if ignored and can debilitate gods if left unchecked.

Language

A god instinctively knows how to communicate with other Gods and their own Chosen. The Chosen of other gods are foreign to them and only through practice and effort can they learn to communicate effectively with these beings.

These boons and limitations also extend to any Intelligent monsters that may come from a Realm.

Skills

There are four ranks for Skills.

1: Novice
2: Adept (If a new sub-specialty can be had for that skill, can gain it at Novice Level)
3: Journeyman (If a new sub-specialty can be had for that skill, can gain it at Novice Level)
4: Master: Gain Special Ability based on that skill

For all basic skills (Running, Jumping, Swimming, etc.) a god is considered to have Master Rank in and cannot fail at these tasks unless some outside force is acting against them. These basic skills do not have sub-specialties or specials associated with them.

At character creation you may select 3 Skills to have Adept Rank in and 2 Skills to have at Novice Rank. Skills are linked to an Attribute and the combined value of the Skill and Attribute often serves as a threshold value to see if you succeed at some action or not. In other cases, the skill level will add to the threshold of actions (such as Combat). In certain cases, skill add to the success rate of certain actions (as %).

When a Skill reaches Adept Level you gain a sub-specialty related to the skill (if it has any). This is often some application of the skill such as Solo Combat on a Longsword Skill or Elaborate Designs on a Basket Weaving Skill. At Journeyman level you gain a second sub-specialty. Finally at Master level you gain a special ability that can be used under some circumstance.

Example: Master, Blacksmithing: Items forged by you are always of superior quality and have a 33% chance of gaining a soul.

Periodically you will be rewarded with Skill Progression, given as a percentage, and when you reach 100% you increase to the next Skill Rank and the Progression sets back to 0. Progression is often given in 5-30% increments and will decrease in amount and frequency as Rank increases.

A being with a Skill Level of 2 (Adept) or higher may teach other beings their Skill so long as their skill level is higher. Instruction of this level is only capable of providing them with Novice Skill level if they possessed none. Alternatively they can be instructed in a sub-specialty that you possess so long as they have Novice or higher rank in the skill. These sub-specialties do not count against any that you would gain from skill progression and only one such additional sub-specialty may be obtained in this fashion per skill.

Example: The God of Games and Tests instructs his Chosen in his skill Mason - Labyrinths, giving all of the Unskilled Chosen a Novice level Mason skill and the Novice and Adept Chosen a sub-specialty in Labyrinths. The Novice Chosen could then go on to become Adepts and select a second sub-specialty, Construction.

The time that this instruction takes depends on the being taught. Gods are naturally fast learners and obtaining this degree of skill through the instruction of another god can occur within hours (Game time). However if a god is instructing a Chosen or intelligent Monster then the process takes considerably longer; often days or weeks (game time) of instruction unless they are gifted in some fashion to obtain information more quickly. This duration increases dramatically if the God wishes to teach a being magic often taking months (game time) for them to grasp.

A god can learn from a mortal being but are subject to the same restrictions laid above as a mortal teacher cannot deliver the same amount of information as another god could in the same time period.

Here is a skill tree to show the progression of skills. Note that while some are specific (ex: Block), others are vague in title which means they have various forms (Ex: Specific One-handed Weapon).

So for example, a person can take COMBAT, then Two-Handed Weapons, then Swordsmanship, then Longsword. All of these skill points would add to their threshold in combat with that weapon. To become a MASTER of the LONGSWORD, they would need to gain 3 in each of the skills before it and then 4 in LONGSWORD.

Only certain skills can become a MASTER class. This will be marked by an *

* = Master Class possibility
Italicized = Name of Skill to be determined by choice



Magic

All gods have an innate understanding of magic, although their Essence determines how strongly connected they are to the universal fonts of magic that flow through Creation. Regardless of Essence however all gods can perform magic and are the first Awakened beings to be capable of doing so.

At character creation the god will pick a field of magic to define their style. The basic fields are Abjuration, Conjuration, Illusion, Divination, Necromancy, Transmutation, Enchantment, and Enhancement although additional fields of magic will be considered on a case-by-case basis.



Note to choose wisely, based on your characters style. Once chosen, THAT FIELD OF MAGIC will be the type of spells you will be casting (thus a God using EVOCATION magic cannot cast Nercromantic Spells unless he gains another field of magic),

Given the freeform nature of the game spells and other expressions of magic will be up to the player's discretion but results will vary depending on GM interpretation. To assist players, however, consult the following information:



If your Essence + Magical Skill is 3 then you can cast Rank 1 spells at maximum. Alternatively if your Essence + Magical Skill is 6 then you can cast Rank 2 spells at maximum.

You can cast a spell at your maximum Rank for your major action or cast a spell of maximum Rank - 1 and attack as your major action. This is useful for spells that buff yourself or allies / debuff your enemy.

Your Magical Skill Threshold determines both maximum Rank and the relative power of some types of spells, such as shielding and offensive spells. An offensive spell cast with a Skill Threshold of 6 is equivalent to a Sword attack whose Skill Threshold is a 6. In simpler terms it can do a max of 6 damage.

Spells which give some flat bonus (+X to Dodge) give a bonus/penalty equal to the Rank of the spell.

Example: God of Fire casts a Rank 3 spell to increase a Chosen ally's Defense by 3.

Spells of lower thresholds that are cast with Essence + Magical Skill higher than them increase to that degree proportionality.

Example: A shielding spell for a single being cast with a skill threshold of 3 will repel attacks of skill threshold 3 or less while that same shield cast using a skill threshold of 9 will withstand attacks of skill threshold 9 and lower and may even reflect blows of 3 or less since it is two degrees stronger. Note that defensive spells such as this work for the total amount of damage taken during that round of combat (not per attack).

The number of times a being can use magic is limited by their Essence and Magical Skill. In a given day a number of spells equal to twice Essence + Magical Skill can be cast, although spells cost more uses depending on their rank.

Rank 1 Spells: 1 Use
Rank 2 Spells: 2 Uses
Rank 3 Spells: 4 Uses
Rank 4 Spells: 8 Uses

Note that this is relative PER INSTANCE of a God. So if a God can cast 6 spells per day and is using spell in his realm and also casts two spell in a Public Realm, then each instance would have the following of spells left to cast: 5/6 in his realm, 4/6 in the public realm.

Note that a God is limited to casting spells in upto (1 Realm + (Divine Rank / 2 round up)) at any one time. To cast in an extra realm than allowed, the God will have to allow 3 updates to pass in both the NEW REALM (one he wants to cast in) and the OLD REALM (one he wishes to stop casting in) before being able to do so.

The duration of a single spell ranges from instantaneous (fireball) to the end of a particular scene (shield). Often spells which cause buffing or debuffing effects will last a number of posts equal to Essence or until countered through magic of equivalent or greater power; whichever occurs first. When a scene is not easily distinguished such with travel assume the spell lasts 1 hour and can be maintained by through the consumption of additional uses.
This message was last edited by the GM at 17:55, Thu 29 Aug 2019.

Combat

Initiative

Combat is an inevitability for gods as monsters and their violent nature often clash with the objectives of the god. When in combat a god acts first and then their opponents. If the god has mortal allies they act in accordance with their relative strength with ties being going to the side of superior number.



If fighting another God, the initiative is of who strikes first is decided by the God with the highest FINESSE + DIVINE RANK. I equal, Agility trumps Divine Rank. If equal again, then the GM will roll the dice to see which strikes first.

Actions

An individual can take any number of actions which could reasonably be done within 6 seconds. This is ultimately up the final discretion of the GM but can be the delivery of simple orders, the casting of a spell, attacking. Dodging is applied in the GM's summary of actions and need not be considered an Action by players.

A spell can be cast in addition to another major action such as attacking if it is cast as if one threshold lower than maximum.

Artifice items are considered passively activated and any activation are purely cosmetic in nature.

For movement a player can move 30 feet per post with Finesse 1 and increases by 10 ft. per Finesse above 1 to a maximum of 70 feet per post at character generation and 120 feet per post at maximum Finesse.

Following is a list of actions that can be taken in a round.

Every ROUND has 3 types of actions:

1) Instantaneous Action
2) Minor Action
3) Full Action

General actions follow in the following categories.

Instantaneous Action:

- Passive Effects (those are always on)
- Activating a non-damaging magical item that you have equipped
- Calling forth a familiar

Minor Action:

- Activating a Divine Power (Minor or Major that is not a passive power)
- Summoning one Creature forth
- Casting a spell at -1 Rank
- Skill use (if done seperatly from a Full Action round. Skill use must be relevant and logical to be considered a minor action. )
- Using a SPecial Ability
- Using a Feat

Full Action: (2 Actions)

- Melee/Range Combat
- Casting a Spell at full rank
- Summoning more than one creature at a time

Now certain actions are not listed and may fall into the "case by case" basis.

Damage

When unarmed damage is dealt by comparing the threshold of the attackers relevant Attribute + Skill versus the defenders threshold of relevant Attribute + Skill. If the threshold is higher then the attack is successful and damage equal to the difference in threshold is dealt. If the attack is equal to the defense then the defender suffers 1 damage from a glancing blow or transmitted force (but does not lose any of his Aura due to a glancing blow).

If reduced to 0 HP the target is considered dead unless they are god in which case they obey the rules laid out in the above Vitality section.

When armed the weapon provides a bonus to the threshold. While this varies mundane weapons typically obey the following scheme:



Note that if you wish to use two weapons while fighting, you can use two small weapons or one small and one light. If you are not skilled to use two weapons, you will have penalties.

Note that one SMALL and LIGHT weapons can be used if you equipe a SHIELD.

If fighting with a Heavy Weapon that you have ADEPT (Rank 2) or better skill with, you may add 50% of your MIGHT as extra damage (note that this is considered a full action and cannot be done if casting magic in the same combat round)

Offensive magic provides a +1 per threshold range of the spell cast. (0-3 threshold spell is +1 while 7-9 is +3). Magical items will often have a cumulative effect or special property.

Defenses

In similar fashion to offensive items, defensive items provide a bonus to the defensive threshold of defenders. This value varies depending on the material of the armor.



Defensive magic follows the same scheme as offensive magic.

Special Circumstances

When improperly skilled and improperly armed you are at a great disadvantage but there are several things that can be done to offset the situation in your favor. While these vary depending on the situation some common circumstances are listed below.


This message was last edited by the GM at 21:04, Fri 09 Aug 2019.

Animancy

Animancy is the method of creating new souls through the use of entire souls or Essence of Aspects and Natures. There are three methods of animancy: fusion, alteration, and genesis.

Fusion is taking two Monster Souls and combining them together. This process can only be used on Monster Souls of the same Rank. The new monster inherits a random collection of Aspects and Natures that the two material souls possessed, up to the limit imposed by their Rank. Fusion has a chance to increase the Rank of the monster which is related and determined by the rank of fusion material souls.

Rank 0: 100%
Rank 1: 75%
Rank 2: 50%
Rank 3: 25%
Rank 4: 10%
Rank 5: 1%

During Fusion there is a chance that two Aspects or Natures will combine to produce a new Aspect or Nature. This occurs at random with a likelihood approximately equal to half, rounded down, of the material. Adding monster souls to the fusion (any rank level of monster soul can be added but the rank level will decide the increase in the chance for the fusion to succeed) will increase likelihood of success. Aspects and Natures of differing levels of complexity will not fuse.

Example: Water (Base Nature) will not fuse with Poison, a complexity 2 Nature of Water and Death. However a Poison Nature could fuse with an Energy Nature to produce a complexity three Nature of Poison and Energy.

Alteration is taking the Essence of an Aspect or Nature and adding it to a Monster Soul. This new Aspect or Nature is gained up to the maximum limit imposed by the Monster Souls Rank. If added in excess of this level the Aspect or Nature will randomly replace one already possessed by the soul, although the replaced Aspect or Nature is simply lost. However, there is a likelihood that the new Aspect or Nature will combine with an existing one at the same likelihood as fusion based Aspect/Nature combination. The same limitations exist in terms of Aspect and Nature complexities.

Genesis is the process of creating an entirely new Monster Soul. This is done by combining Aspects and Natures that the god possesses and expending the requisite amount of Minor Souls to stabilize it. Genesis has no chance of Aspect or Nature combinations and monsters created through Genesis cannot be Fused or Altered further as they lack the seed of chaos that makes other Monster Souls mutable.

Chance of success for Genesis is the same as Fusion but the Aspects/Natures cannot be lost if Genesis fails and the Minor Souls put forth for Genesis will see only 50% of them lost if Genesis fails.

Rank Limits and Genesis Cost



Artifice

Artifice is the act of combining Aspects and Natures to items. For the purposes of Artifice there are five classes of items: Helm, Raiment, Sceptre, Arms, and Ward.

Helms are worn upon the head and can be anything from traditional armor helmets to circlets or crowns. Aspects and Natures instilled into Helms bestows the quality to those Units under the wearers direct leadership or command.

Raiments are worn upon the body and can be anything from fine armor to elaborate robes to even a simple cloak. Aspects and Natures instilled into Raiments give the wearer those qualities while worn.

Sceptres are held in the offhand and can be actual sceptres, wands, blasting rods, or similar channeling implements. Aspects and Natures instilled into Sceptres can be applied to Monsters under the wielders command or leadership.

Arms are held in the main hand and can be any weapon. Aspects and Natures instilled into Arms give that item a quality or special property related to the qualities placed within it.

Wards are worn on the hands and neck and can be anything from simple rings to elaborate jewelry. Aspects and Natures instilled into Wards grant those qualities to the god's Aura, augmenting them. Other beings gain a lesser version of the Aura which possesses only the qualities given to it by the Ward.

While many of the properties Artifice bestows upon items can be replicated with sufficiently advanced magic, these are not impeded by efforts to dispel their effects (unless specialty spells are cast to diminish the effects of these items, which could lower its effects temporarily but not permanently. This is extremely difficult to do) and do not have usage limits.

A normal item of Artifice can possess a single Aspect or Nature and a being can wield a single item of each type at any given time. This leads gods to build divine armories where they stockpile and store their most powerful items when not in use. Items possessed by a god travel with them when they Paradox.

Aspects and Natures instilled into items of Artifice cannot be seen using a god's Divine Senses although those with the appropriate skills can determine them through analysis. The same applies for dissembling items of Artifice to obtain their constitute qualities.

While low level items of Artifice can be created with less chance of failure, the stronger more powerful creations of Artifice (created with rare items that can contain more than one Artifice/Nature) have greater chances of failure upon creation, making one lose the aspects/natures/equipment used for the attempted creation.

Invocation

Invocation is the temporary summoning of a monster whose soul a god or other being possesses that you know the true name of. To invoke a soul you must expend souls equal to 10 + (10 times its Rank) and it remains manifest for a scene or 1 hour; whichever is more appropriate. To maintain them beyond that time is their 5 + (Rank * 5) for each additional scene or hour.

A god can have a number of Monsters Invoked equal to their Will. Any others Invoked above this limit are lost to the god as they regain their form and independence, often to flee or attack their previous master.

Improving Units

Units are members of the Chosen species of a god who are actively under the command or have given their allegiance to the god. Units have three tiers: Basic, Advanced, and Elite.

A Basic Unit is equivalent to a Rank 0 or 1 Monster and has no special skills. An Advanced Unit is equivalent to a Rank 2 or 3 Monster and has a class which provide a +1 bonus to relevant actions. An Elite Unit is equivalent to a 3 or 4 Monster and has a specialization in their class providing a +2 bonus to some sub-specialty. At both Advanced and Elite levels, Chosen will obtain Special Abilities related to their class and specialization respectively.

Units improve with time, often on the order of months to years, but a god can accelerate the process through the consumption of minor souls. A Basic Unit (an individual is considered a UNIT) can be made into an Advanced Unit for 50 Souls and an Advanced Unit can be made into an Elite Unit for 100 Souls.

Units can wield items of Artifice and can be further improved through Alteration Animancy as if Monster of their lowest equivalent Rank up to the maximum limit imposed by that Rank.

Sanctum

A Sanctum is a special location which can only be created within the Halls of Calmorin. Without a Sanctum a god is effectively naked in Halls of Calmorin and vulnerable to whatever forces exist to harm them. Within their Sanctum, however, they are effectively immune to harm.

- None can enter a god's sanctum without permission and that permission can be revoked as they deem necessary, forcibly expelling the now intruder.
- A god who dies within the bounds of their sanctum does not lose a life and instead regenerates in their Throne Room.
- A god has total awareness of everything that occurs within their Sanctum, even the thoughts of their Chosen and bound Monsters, should they possess any.
- A god can paradox to any location within their Sanctum.

The layout and composition of a god's Sanctum is up to their discretion although chambers and areas with a magical or theurgic effect still require the expenditure of souls, minor and otherwise, to make permanent. However, all Sanctums have a Throne Room which is the heart of the Sanctum in which none can enter outside of the god. From their Throne Room they can observe any Province they command in their home realm and commune with any of their Chosen.

A Sanctum can created using 5000 Minor Souls and can withstand damage as if they possessed a Resilience and/or Will five times greater than their god and possessed an Aura that was five times as powerful.

A god whose Sanctum is destroyed loses 1 life.

Sanctums also have a Zone of Influence equal to their Divine Rank times 10 in miles. Within this range they can construct fortifications and other structures as they deem fit. Chosen and bound Monsters within this area are treated as if they under the effect of the god's Helm or Spectre respectively.

Theurgy

The deep magic of Creation that only the greatest of divine beings can hope to wield. Mortal theurges are often demigods or have been uplifted through pacts with alien beings and powers beyond Creation. Even still the use of theurgy will rob them of vitality, often causing them to sacrifice years of their life for a single use.

Theurgy is often learned as a particular expression and has unique conditions that must be met in addition to the expenditure of souls. Theurgy lasts indefinitely or until dispelled by theurgy cast by a being of equal or greater power.

Paradise

A Paradise is a second Realm, one for the Chosen Souls of a god's people. A Paradise obeys the will of its creator and is more mutable then their first Realm. Souls within a Paradise can never truly perish and will continue indefinitely into the future even if their god is slain.

A Paradise is created through a Paradise Seed, a small piece of Creation with the power to birth new Realms. All Realms are made from a Paradise Seed and their rarity makes them highly coveted.

A Paradise has a single entrance within the Land. If this entrance is destroyed then no souls may enter the Paradise and it becomes a Lost Realm. Paradises built by gods with Sanctums have their entrances within their Sanctum and benefit from its protections.

When the chosen of a God enter the Paradise, they cannot be summoned by another God (even if their true name is known) but may be called upon, by the God himself who created the Paradise for his Chosen, at half the cost that the Invocation would cost.
This message was last edited by the GM at 01:30, Tue 23 July 2019.

Essence of Faith

Essence of Faith is the essence gained (from now on called Faith) from the faith of those who pray/believe/have faith in the God in question. There are two forms of faith.

1) Faith of the Chosen: This is one that can be gained more easily as the Gods Chosen will, for the most part, believe and show devotion to their God. Of course, some Chosen are more devout than others and this will affect the value of the faith gained from such devotion. Yet compared to the faith gained by NON-CHOSEN, it is less powerful as, as a general rule, the Chosen of a God will not follow another God (they may turn against them, but will not follow another God through faith)

2) Faith of the Created: The Created are creatures created by the Gods (either through their own actions or as creatures that have come to be through the creation of realms). These are not MONSTERS but living creatures with free will which is why their faith is the most coveted for it is the most pure and strong.

A God must actively form the showing of faith which can come in many forms: Actions, prayer, acts of devotion, sacrifice etc etc. These are normally dictated by the God or his religious leaders and then followed by the devotees. As a God gains more and more followers (either Created or Chosen), the flow of Faith will gather but need a focus or receptacle  to gather this Faith. This normally worn or carried by the God on his Instance since, in most cases, the God wishes to have access to this Focus of his Faith to be able to use its powers. In certain cases, the God can form the focus within his realm to avoid it being taken from his being in another realm. This forces the God to go to this place where the Focus is to be able to use its pool of Faith. Note that this is an important factor for if the God is not in contact with his Focus, he cannot grant/use the powers of his Faith.

Pantheonic Worship

Pantheonic Worship is the pooling, by the Gods, of the faith of their faithful. This allows all the Gods within the Pantheon to benefit from the pool of Faith that is gathered in the worship of them. This generally occurs when Gods create a realm together, to avoid conflict within that specific realm as to whom will gain more souls and avoid wars between their churches. While followers may sometimes still commit acts of war against other beliefs within the Pantheon, this then is an issue that is regulated between the Gods as such acts do not benefit the Gods since they still can access the pools of Faith. To note that a God that has NO structures of faith will lose his faithful over time and , if that occurs, would lose the benefits of the Pantheonic Worship. Such things happen when a God forsakes his faithful in a realm with such a setup, or rival Gods decide to wage war upon one another, eliminating the faith of a rival God to gain the benefits of the pool for themselves.

Basins and Foci of Worship

Faith is stored in Foci or Basins of worship. Pantheons use Basins as it allows for the faith to gather in one place for all to access through a special Foci that is created for the Pantheon itself for each God.

When a God creates his own faith, he chooses a Foci for he needs to be in contact with the Foci itself to garner its benefits.

Without the Foci being in contact with the Deity (Pantheonic or Personal) the God will be unable to use the Faith of his followers.

Making a Foci is an expensive procedure. It is why establishing a Faith of Worship is not an endeavor that is done on a whim but is done through careful planning.

Here are the costs, in souls of each type of Foci/Pantheonic Basin:

Foci (Personal) = 2,500 Minor Souls + 1 Divine Rank (Capacity to hold upto 5,000 Faith)
Foci (Pantheonic) = 1,000 Minor Souls (Does not hold Faith, is only a conduit for it)
Pantheonic Basin = 25,000 Minor Souls (Total) (Holds an unlimited amount of Faith)

Foci are special items that are directly linked with the God it is made for. This means it is, in part, a reflection of their Domains. The Primary Domain will gain the primary look/powers while the secondary domain will modify the initial look of the foci to reflect itself while giving off secondary powers.

Personal Foci: 1 x Major Powers (Primary Domain) + 2 Minor Powers (Secondary Domain) + Bonus of (Divine Rank / 2 round up) to Threshold for some effect/ability/power of Gods choosing + 1 Divine Rank

Pantheonic Foci: 1 x Major Powers (Primary Domain) + 1 Minor Powers (Secondary Domain) + Bonus of (Divine Rank / 2 round down) to Threshold for some effect/ability/power of Gods choosing

Note that losing a Personal Foci is like losing a part of yourself and the Divine Rank that was set within it is thus lost until the Personal Foci is recovered. The Personal Foci is a part of you, though, and thus if held by another would allow your conciousness to communicate with that other. If the Will of the bearer is less than yours, the personal foci's powers may be refused to the bearer. The location of the foci is not known to the God, though, if he does not have it with him unless the God is within the same realm as the location of the Personal Foci. This is why some Gods choose to have their Personal Foci as a throne or the like, to avoid it being taken from them.

A Pantheonic Foci is less powerful than a personal one but is still a powerful item to hold. As it is also a manifestation of a Gods Domain, the powers within it reflect this. If held by another being, it will grant the powers to that being without interference. As the personal foci, a God will know where his Pantheonic Foci is if within the same realm of it. Through the Pantheonic Foci, a God may access the Basin of the Pantheons Faith. What is taken by the God is known to the other Gods that pay attention to what is done. (For gaming needs, a thread is made displaying the uses of the Faith by the Gods, on a per use basis for players, on a weekly use by NPCs)

Time in a Pantheonic Realm

Pantheonic Realms are different as they are created by the Gods that create a Basin. This Basin is the core of the realm itself: Without it, their would be no realm. This Basin is, for all intents and purposes, indestructible except through very powerful means. The flow of time, in a Pantheonic Realm, is thus decided by the Pantheon as a whole. If time is left to move on its own, days will equal days. If the Pantheon, as a whole, decides to let time flow more quickly then all the Gods would agree to remove their direct influence from the realm itself, leaving their faithful to "trust" in their presence as time speeds on. This can be beneficial to advance the growth of the faith as a whole but may lead to trouble if certain actions are left in play (or put in play) by Gods/Mortals. Elite faithful of a God may call upon the Gods to come to their aid and if they do, the God(s) would choose to intervene or not. If they do, the flow of time would return to a day by day and all Gods would be aware of this. In a Pantheonic Realm, one God cannot let the flow of time go on without the acceptance of the other Gods for any action from the other Gods will return the flow of time to a day by day rate. That is why a good Pantheon is one where the Gods all agree to the workings, or have a structured hierarchy.

Powers of Faith

Faith is used in many ways. While the powers it can manifest are related to the domains of the deity, they manifest in two forms.

For the deity, apart from the gains of the Foci, Faith can be used as minor souls are used for animancy yet the results will be tied more closely to the domain of the deity rather than the essence of creation. A deity using Faith to create animancy can have full control over what is gained by the recipient, whether it be an object or even the creation of an entity. The creation of such objects are the equivalent of putting part of the deity in the creation and thus items of such kind will normally wield the NATURE of the Gods Domain as part of its makeup. Any power gained through the creation of such an item is always related to the Domain of the God.

The faithful of the God can be enhanced with powers related to Faith. A faithful of the God can be granted powers (either individually, or as a community such as a group of warrior, priests etc). Granting such gifts costs an amount of faith per week, which is deducted from the amount of Faith gained weekly. So to have a group of warrior such as Paladins with the power to rebuke undead would be a formidable group to have when fighting the God of Undeath, it would limit the amount of Paladins available to the God in question for the cost of each Paladin within the Faith would be "charged" weekly. This is to allow a certain level of control over the amount of available "Faith Enhanced" beings within the church.

Powers given to those individuals/groups of Faithful are to the gods discretion but must, as always, fall within the Domains of the god in question. The God of Life cannot have his priests of faith wrap themselves in the shadows to be invisible to the naked eye. Yet the Priests of the God of Life may be given the ability to heal others X amount of hit points per day as an ability.

These abilities are aside from those gained through rank progression and may be removed from a faithful at the will of the deity.

Here is a list of some possible uses for Faith. Note that other uses can be available:

- Enhance a follower with a power: 10 F.P.
- Create an Item of Faith: 50 F.P.
- Enhance a follower to an Advanced Status: 20 F.P.
- Enhance a follower to an Elite Status: 50 F.P.

Enhance a Follower: Enhancing a follower will not change the rank of the follower but will grant him on power based on the faith as decided by the deity.

Create and Item of Faith: A holy item that will have a power as related, in terms of effects, as items of artifice. This requires no aspects/natures but is related to the Domains of the Gods and its power is chosen by the deity upon creation. A Holy Item may have more than 1 power by investing the faith cost multiple items. Note that any who hold this item will be able to use its powers. Placing a restriction on the use of the item by non-faithful would require it to be set as a power in and of itself. Note that as any other creations of faith, the item may be "depowered" by the deity by removing the flow of faith to it, rendering the item as a simple item forever more.

Enhance a follower: Enhancing a follower is the same as rendering a unit advanced/elite with souls but is done with faith. If a unit is already advanced/elite, then he will gain extra levels of rank in what pertains to his Faith aspects. This is done to individuals but the powers gained are decided by the deity, while the evolving of the unit is based on both the unit itself as well as the influence the deity may wish to focus upon. A unit raised to advanced status would gain +1 Rank and gain 1 Power of the Faith while a unit raised to Elite status would gain an additional +1 Rank and gain an additional 1 Power of the Faith. This means an Elite Unit (from Minor Souls) could be raised to Elite Unit of Faith and thus have a total of +4 Rank from initial creation.

Expanding the Faith:

Expanding the faith is done by establishing the religion yet a focus is needed for ones faithful to focus their devotion to. The form of this can be had through multiple methods such as prayer or sacrifice yet a focus is normally decided by structures to establish the deities place in the world of mortals.

Once a structure is established, devotion will begin to flow as those that bare witness to it become the basis of the faithful of that god in that realm. Such structure are created by the use of Minor Souls and while these are examples, these are not limited to these forms and may be expanded upon:

- Consecrate a Church Structure: 250 Minor Souls
- Consecrate a Temple Structure: 1000 Minor Souls
- Consecrate a Cathedral Stucture: 2500 Minor Souls
- Consecrate a Monument Structure: Variable (TBD based on description)

Each form of structure will grant a certain bonus to the expansion of the number of faithful a god will have. As the amount of faithful determines the amount of Faith a deity claims weekly, it is useful for a deity to expand his faith in large numbers among his people.

They will also grant an amount of Faith Points gained based on the number of followers. Churches, Temples and Cathedrals will grant bonuses based on the number of faithful, thus their value in terms of Faith Point gain climbing as you gain more faitful.

Monuments will grant a passive Faith Point gain but with only a little amount of Faith Point gain based on population, thus making them useful when first establishing a religion but less so as your religion gains many followers. The amount of passive Faith gained will vary based on the initial influx of Minor Souls placed in the Sanctification of the Monument.

Usage of Faith

While using Faith to create and grant powers is one thing, once an item or unit is enhanced it needs Faith to maintain its potency and abilities. This is why a large base of followers will allow a deity to have more Units of the Faith at his or her service and thus help in defending his Faith and faithful, as well as him or herself, from interlopers.

As a deity creates permanent items/units/structures with Faith, his weekly upkeep will be updated. If a deity sees his upkeep surpass his intake of faith, as he runs out of excess faith he will see his faithful begin to lose their ability to use powers or see his Holy Items lose their effects. This is why many gods, when they wage war on each other, try and remove the structures of the rival gods Faith to lower the amount of followers that will believe in the rival god, thus lowering his or her ability to defend itself.

This can be seen in the Realms & Souls thread.
This message was last edited by the GM at 03:11, Thu 07 Nov 2019.