I guess there needs to be this, too, if this game is going to happen.

Welcome along, my friends.

Please be gentle with me,  this is my first experience with the system.
I’m a competent enough role player, so hopefully I’ll pick things up fast enough ... and make it interesting enough for you all to make it fun.

Some great questions by prospective players.  So to share my answers:

1/  Yes, I’m willing to consider Words from other Godbound printed sources.
- please make it part of your character concept that you are selling to me:   Convince to use the Word by giving me a good character proposal.
- give me the complete Word write-up; citing the sourcebook and page, please.

If I feel comfortable with it, I’ll publish it into my Words thread ... and it’ll be available to everyone, including you.


2/  I’ll be starting each character seperately; in true Sandbox style.   Characters can crosses paths organically.
This can include characters hearing rumours of each other and NPCs (I’ll make that happen), and can seek other Godbound out.
But I’ll also give you all the chance to move towards each other through storyline’s that you’ll all approach from different angles.

I’m doing this so that I can learn the rules/setting via a variety of characters: but also so that, at least at first, we can move each character’s storyline at our (GM+ player’s) own pace.

Welcome, Chandiss, Xin and Zuana.

I’d like to start by thanking each of you for your applications ... and your willingness to be, effectively, my guinea pigs as I explore this system that is new to me.
Excitingly, you all conceptualised three very different characters, which is awesome.

And all of you have, at the least, the free-PDF that I have.
I was going to invest some time in transcribing across into this game’s threads more information ... such as scribing the Gifts for each of the Words.  But as you all have access to that information, I think I’d prefer to invest in the character development process.  I’d like to get to know your characters better: and a bit more about each of you, by default.


My intent is to run each of you solo, at least for the first story.
That gives me time to explore the system as pertains to each character ... and lets us establish your creation at our own pace.
Once that is done, I’m happy to find narrative ways to link up (one way or another) any of you who would prefer teaming.


Several of you have a lot more experience with the system than I.   While I am comfortable with my STing ability, there may be times that I flounder with the rules system.   Please do feel free to offer your advice or suggestions: politely.


So, rather than ramble any further,  I’ll go now open up character sheets for you.
I’ll post a sheet that has been kindly donated by one of you: but to be honest, if you have your own style, do it.   So long as the info is there somewhere.

Then, I’ll get to talking with each of you about your characters: their locations and situations, and their GOALS.
I am a very big ST for player drive, and once I know what type of story you want for your PC, I enjoy crafting something to take them there.


In conclusion, welcome ... and thank you.

Glad to be here, hey there folks.

Oh, hey!  I got in after all!  Yay for none of that first-come-first-served nonsense!

Anyway, Artifice focused superheroine from the Bright Republic here, pretty much a mobile flying artillery piece at the moment, but will transition over time to something more honest and legitimate.

Though the flying heavily armored artillery piece bit's probably never going away, on account of "Everyone wants our shiny tech, doubly so when it gets shinier after an Artifice focused Godbound showed up"
This message was last updated by the player at 22:15, Mon 29 July 2019.

Hi everyone.

I'm playing a character who kinda falls somewhere in the middle ground between Overwatch's Sombra and an Assassin's Creed protagonist, spreading a spider's web of covert influence from behind masks and proxies that they might judge those with power and remove them if they prove unworthy of their station. Naturally such a service also positions one quite nicely to ensure that someone 'better' takes the reigns in the aftermath.

I came in with the intention of going Deception/Knowledge/Night but I've soured on the last of those the more I've come to think about it. Any suggestions what might make for a good replacement?

Awesome.

Also making an Artificer, but in a radically different direction than that, and not taking the Word of Artifice.  Earth and Sorcery, and I might do Fate, but I'm still trying to figure out what that's going to look like.

@Zuana  Knowledge seems like it would be such a fun word, but it kind of ends up being the solution to everything so much that it loses some of it's luster.

Night is my all time favorite word because of Orienomancy, the magic of dreams.  Ever read the Dreamblood Duology by N.K. Jemisin.  Think of dream viruses that spread Deception.

Deception + Shapeshifting is a hilarious combo, as A Familiar Face lets everyone completely ignore the gibbering horror having tea in the middle of the market square, and further plays into Night's dream/nightmare motif.

Hell, I'll take Night if you don't want it.
This message was last edited by the player at 00:03, Tue 30 July 2019.

Hi guys. This is my first time playing godbound, the sheer openness of the game kinda scare me a little, but since I first read it I wanned to play. Lets see how it goes. :)
This message was last edited by the player at 00:52, Tue 30 July 2019.

Offering free unasked for advice?

Make a character with a clear goal, and a clear obstacle, and a long term objective after that.  The people who get stuck in this game and stop posting are the ones who load their Godbound up on really cool combat powers, and then just kind of twiddle their thumbs with no idea who to shoot their awesomeness at.

Take a mix of Gifts, including ones that give you clear non-combat objectives and a purpose.

Pick one of the nations in the free book, it's only a page long so they aren't hard to read, and make a character from one of those places.  Give them a mission, personal politics, and an objective.  Give them something to do when none of the other PCs or the big baddies are around.  Some projects that always need working on.

"Building your cult" is not a good long term project, it's something you will do automatically anyways.  If you set that as your main goal?  You're gonna have a boring time.
This message was last edited by the player at 00:49, Tue 30 July 2019.

Yeah, like, Tisiphone's an heiress of a big corporation, was being groomed because of being a super genius lady to take over, and then they got wrecked by a conspiracy, so she's going all superhero to delete the list of names involved while also keeping the Republic from getting eaten in the meantime.

Still poking between reference images (Descriptions are hard otherwise on account of my aphantasia), but the current frontrunner is this one here.



Artifice/Sky/Bow Words, combat in the form of being a flying artillery piece who can effectively snipe anything in a mile of her at any time, while having enough heavy armor plating and non-combat applications to shrug off any real counterfire.
This message was last edited by the player at 01:03, Tue 30 July 2019.

Earth/Sorcery/Fate ended up being my final pick.


This message was last edited by the player at 05:30, Tue 30 July 2019.

Thanks, that seems like good advice overall.

And, since everyone is doing it: Athius will be bound to the words of Command/Death/Endurance.

Yeah, give yourself at least two projects. Not just "oh and then I want to get this power," either.  Multiphase projects.

Example for a Vissio based Godbound:

Step 1: join the Assassins guild, the Blades.
Step 2: rise through the ranks.
Step 3: establish an alliance with a noble house with a false identity.
Step 4:  convince them to hire the Blades to kill my longtime enemy, the Duchess of Altrea, because she insulted my father's parrot once.
Step 5: replace the Duchess with a copycat loyal to me, taking control of the family
Step 6: advance in the ranks of the Blades by killing the elite assassins who come to kill the Duchess

I made all that up off of a quick read of the page on Vissio.  If the DM totally sidetracked the story?  Awesome.  But left to her own devices, this Godbound has lots to do.

Oh, final thing.

You are a God, but at level 1 you're not a particularly strong one.

https://i.redd.it/r9tqo16zbp631.jpg

So be careful with your backstory, don't make your self the conqueror of nations.  You're a seed of divinity, not a fully fledged God.  You're not going to die to a few goblins, but at level 1 very few things count as lesser foes.
This message was last edited by the player at 16:41, Tue 30 July 2019.

@Chandriss: Will have those in mind. Thanks.

At any rate, did everyone get a character sheet yet? I wanted to start puttering away at it, but I don't have a template to work with yet.

Sorry Tis’,
You have one now.

I'm done with Chandriss, and available for brainstorming if anyone benefits from that during character creation.

I am working the next few nights; but I’m looking to kick off ready PCs into IC story threads in a few days time.

Right, here's what I've got, critique?

Tisiphone Miller 


Vitals

HP	8
AC	2
Fray Die	1d8
Level/ BAB	1
Influence	2
Dominion	0
Dominion Spent	0
Experience	0
Wealth	0

Effort Commitment

Ability Scores

Strength	8	-1
Dexterity	14	+1
Constitution	10	+0
Intelligence	16	+2
Wisdom	13	+1
Charisma	13	+1

Saves

Hardiness	15
Evasion	13
Spirit	14

Weapons/Attacks

Attack	To Hit	Dmg	Ability	Range	Notes
Mag Rifle	+2	1d10+1	Dex	500

Bound Words

Word of Creation	Binding Effect
Artifice	Can Create any non-magical handheld item in a turn, counts as 100x laborers
Sky	Immune to falling damage, Electricity, Cold, Harmful Sounds, Does not need to breathe
Bow	Infinite Ammunition, No Collateral Damage, Summon Ranged Weapon, Magical Ranged Attacks

Gifts

Gift	Type	Word	Action	Effect
Sapphire Wings	Lesser	Sky	On Turn	Fly at twice normal speed, 100 MpH in a straight line without distractions
Omnipresent Reach	Lesser	Bow	Constant	Ranged Attacks do magical 1d10 damage, Mag Weapons work outside the Bright Republic
Reverence of Steel	Greater	Artifice	Constant	Self-made clothes/armor are AC 3 no save penalties. Spend effort to block crafted weapon damage
Ten Thousand Tools	Lesser	Artifice	Constant	Upgrades base Word power to be On-Turn, Daily Labor now counts as 1,000x Laborers
Faultless Repair	Lesser	Artifice	Action	Repair 10 Cubic Feet of objects or constructions per round, needs Effort if object magical.

Lower Magic

• Theotechnician

Facts

• I am the Heiress of Skyfire Industries, a Theotechnician of rare skill
• I have a list of Names, the villains responsible for my family's downfall.
• I was born and raised in the Bright Republic, and have not yet left.

Notable Possessions

• Valkyrie-class Battle Armor (Heavy Armor, AC 3, No Save Penalties)
• Heavy Electromagnetic Rifle (2h Ranged, +2 To Hit, 1d8+1 Damage)

Artifact: 

Word	Effect	Dominion	Appearance	Special

1 small critique.



What does this do?  Fact #3 is technically supposed to be a connection to someone, or some organization.  This doesn't really fit, and is already covered by your first fact.

Otherwise it's a solid build.

Fair enough, I'll change that.

I concur.
But that 1st Fact actually contains two:    Being a ‘Theotechnician’, and ‘heir to a financial empire’.

The rules do say that to be part of a ‘Low Magic’ tradition, one must use an entire Fact for.

So I feel that maybe split the ‘Theotechnogian’ part into that third/organisation Fact.

Brief description up.

@galley_slave  Do you want any of us to have any shared backstory?

I do not require such.
And given that the PCs lived in different nations, and different lifestyles, I wasn’t expecting them too.

Once we’ve solo’ed a while, I will happily help any PCs who want to join up to do so.

damnit, I am about to loose my computer for several days.
And the initial posts I want to make will be hell to type out, and cut-paste into, using my phone.

I am afraid that I am going to hold off for a few more days to get the IC posts under way.
But I am going to continue talking with each of you individually, as I have been, over the weekend.

I do apologise.

No worries, see you when you get back.

In the mean time, offer stands if anyone is stuck on anything and wants someone to bounce ideas off of.
This message was last edited by the player at 03:55, Fri 02 Aug 2019.

Oh, I'll keep posting ... from my phone.
Just can't really do all the thread preps from that.   grrr

I apologies for the wait, my friends.
And I thank ye for your patience.

IC threads are up, as you will undoubtedly have noticed.
Have at it, then!        or, as the Bellocians might say, "Let the Games begin".





PS if you don't like the way I have started you off, or anything about my GMing style as our stories progress, please do feel free to discuss this with me ... politely.

Wooo!

Glad to be in it.  Hope we didn't lose anyone with the pause.  Looking now, seems we lost Xin?
This message was last edited by the player at 14:18, Mon 05 Aug 2019.

Why do you say that?

Because rpol told me you hadn't been in since the 2nd, and for some reason my brain malfunctioned and told me that was 2 weeks ago.

Glad to be an idiot, on this occasion.

Question as we are starting out, should have asked this before we started.

What's the hoped for posting rate?

2-3 times a week, more, less?

Post coming after my shift today.

People post when they can.   Life runs at different pace for different folk.
Everyone is 'Marching to their own drum beat' you might say.  Which is why solo play at the beginning is good: we move at a pace that suits the player and GM, rather than the slowest player/GM.

Personally, I work shift, and casual, so my shifts are all over the place.   Not to mention the domestic and family obligations.
So I don't expect anything from anyone.
In another game I run, I have players who do post several times a week ... and when I can, I keep up with them.  And their story flows faster than others.
Other players get in a post sometimes ones a week or so.

I have no obligations or expectations.

No worries, Tis'.  I hope you had a nice shift.
Don't forget to self-care when you get home ... wind down a little, and have something to eat.

This is a really good format to start this game with, have to say.  It gives everyone a chance to find the grove for their Godling before we have to interact with each other, let's us get our machinations going.

As a new Godbound player, I'm liking the solo start. :)

@Xin

<img src=https://i.pinimg.com/originals/65/82/48/6582484ce0fd0819a77747e303007ade.jpg>

If you copy that code into your bio it will just post the picture, rather than the hyperlink.

No worries, I was busy. Just didn't want to lose the link.

Indeed.    The Influence/Dominion rules are a significant part of what has drawn my interest to Godbound.   They are an interest mechanism, and something that sets (in my mind) this system apart from the usual run of superpowers genres and fantasy systems.

Seconded on that, best part of the game.

I had a Night/Sorcery character who used Influence to be a walking transmission vector for a dream virus that woke the latent magical ability of anyone who dreamed it.

It's really worth a read and a think.

Am finished my 4x 12hr back-to-back night shifts.
I’m sincerely hoping to get posts out within the next 24hrs.
Thanks for your patience.

No worries on my end, enjoying this tremendously, and between work and your kid I'm sure you've been busy.  I've been meaning to post something to the bio, I just haven't had the chance, and I'm relatively paranoid about leaving much of a paper trail about my identity online.

Still, I'll get something up.

"If we shadows have offended,  Think but this, and all is mended ..."
      I am glad that I can offer some mild amusement and entertainment, my friends.


Chandriss, please do not post anything that you do not feel comfortable doing so.
I really don't want that.
Some people like to share a little of themselves, beyond what we know of them via their characters; others do not.

No problem, so far I'm liking it very much, the pace and the game.

Hello Everyone, It's lovely to meet all of you, I'll be playing Giovanni, the Wandering Cursed Vagabound.^^

Woo, glad to actually get to play with you.

Giovanni and I have been DMing for each other on rpol for what, four years?

Give or take, yeah^^ I'm looking forward to get to play with you too^^

Sorry, Athius, my phone is about to die.
I’ll have to post for you later, when I get home.   Probably tomorrow, though, because I am also exhausted ...

I hope you are all well, friends.

Sorry for the giant post..... but I had to indulge a little.

I swear after this they will be shorter, okay maybe after the next one they will be shorter.
This message was last edited by the player at 21:28, Thu 29 Aug 2019.

@Xin. peeked in on your thread.

So an Improbable Change ^{(x2 modifier)} for a Village ^{(base 1)} is 2 ^{(1 x 2)} Influence, which you have!  Basically, you're giving the village a temporary strength 2 Feature and strength 1 Problem for as long as the Influence is committed.

Providing the necessities of life. Food, clean water, shelter would require a suitable Word.  Fertility is the obvious one, or Wealth, Luck if you're clever.  Beast could provide food, Sky or Sea could provide water.  Shelter is Artifice or Earth.

If you have any Words that you can apply creatively, you're good to go.

No clue what your Words are though, haven't been watching.

---

 @DM:  Using her Gift to permanently add a level 2 Feature "New Verano's walls are strong, its people are safe."

100% your call on the level 1 Trouble she creates.

Xin, the full explanation your looking for is on p126 of the FreePDF; I don't know about the full Rulebook (but I suspect it is close to that).
Its labelled "Changing the World".

Firstly, though, you must create the EFFECT.  In this case, you want to either 'create a new village' and provide for those there ... or you want to 'change a FACT about this village (Cazak’s Crag)'.

Sure, as Chandriss says, you can use a Word to make a change, or you can role-play it ... but you must create that EFFECT one way or another.

If you want to set up your own village, you'll probably need significant mundane resources.   You are going to have to find enough money to fund their wellbeing.  Not just feed them, them cloth them, buy tools/weapons, etc.
That can be done; it'll involve a traditional DnD style raid on a creature or enemy to 'loot its treasure'.

Once you've created the change you want to see in the world, you need to maintain it ... or else basic nature takes over, and your effect becomes open to the vagaries of life and fate without Xin's guiding hand.
If you wish to show that Xin is doing what is needed to maintain that EFFECT (that 'change in the world'), you allocate INFLUENCE.  This represents doing all the little things, every day on an ongoing basis, that are required to keep what he has created in effect.
Yes, your character may be using the Word of Fertility or Beast to provide great crops or healthy animals each day, but we will not be roleplaying that.  Instead, you will allocate INFLUENCE, to represent that day to day maintenance.

While the INFLUENCE is left allocated to that task, the EFFECT remains as Xin wishes it ... because he is paying enough attention to maintaining the effect day to day.
But if Xin reallocates his attention/EFFORT, things slide inevitably towards what they would most likely be like without Xin's attention.

Later, once you get DOMINION, you can spend that to make the EFFECT permanent:  you give up that Dominion, but never again have to give the Effect your attention ... because your Divine Will has permanently changed the world in that way.

     {a lot of typing.   Did I ramble?  does that make sense?}


My question, I guess, is:
Is Xin trying to enhance and take care of this entire village?  If so, he's going to face challenge from the current leadership, and he can expect dissension and confusion among the people ... who have shifting and conflicting loyalties.
Or is Xin going to try to seperate those who will take his leadership, from those who support the current rulers?
This message was last edited by the GM at 06:22, Fri 30 Aug 2019.

Looks like I'm going monster hunting then.  I have none of those Words. At best, I could tend the fields myself unendingly to make crops, hunt something down without rest or dig some wells.

I'm definitely not looking to make my own village, just solve the problems here.

I don't think we need to worry about <blue>Influence</b> just yet in Xin's story.   Lets see how the narrative progresses.

For everyone:  I'm going be taking a better look at those 'Faction Rules' soon, with regard to - Lagren
- Cazak’s Crag
- Verano ... and 'New Verano'
- the Covenant to The One in Patria/Dulimbai

I want to understand factions better myself (many of us of new to this systems interesting rules).  And soon enough, some/all of you will start developing Cults of Followers ... which fall into this category.  So I might as well start learning.


I cannot promise much in the way of posts for a few days now, as I'm heading into a block of work (3x 12hr shifts, bac-to-back).
But some time next week I'll be able to focus on this game again.

I have added a new GAME SETTING thread.
Hopefully it is self-explanatory.  If not, do ask.


Also, a New Contender has entered the realm.

Hello new person, welcome to the game.

Thank you. Glad to be here. Looking forward to playing with you all.

I do hope everything is okay. I'm quite eager and excited for the next round of updates. XD

I apologies to all of you, you beautiful, darling people.
I’m just finishing up my shift at work.   When I finished my shift on Thursday morning, I’d done 60hrs (mostly nights) in 6 days.
Then my family obligations stepped in.

 I promise to attend to this game within the next 24hrs, my friends.

My friends, posts will come over the next 24hrs.

Thank you for your patience, as always; and I hope life is treating you well.

Sorry folks, I am on an unplanned, surprised road trip for family reasons.
I do have internet, but low on time and narrative juice.

No worries my friend.  Loving the game, I'll still be here when you get back.

Undead Horde
AC: 7
Hit Dice: 123
Attack: +2
Move: 30’ shamble Save: 16+
Damage: 1d8 average weapon Effort: 1

A shambling mass of lesser undead takes the field in this horde. While utterly fearless and hard to put down, they lack the intelligence and flexibility of living troops, and fail to show much self-preservation. They do, however, have a mindless lust for violence, and gain the Blood Like Water ability which they may use against its foes in lieu of an attack. Small Mobs can use this power once per round, Large Mobs can use it twice, and Vast Mobs can use it three times per round. The mob is made up of 2 hit die creatures, and is susceptible to powers and Fray dice that affect such foes.

---

I included Invincible Iron General in these stats

Thanks Chandriss.

I'm guessing they have 13 HD (not 123) with Invincible Iron General, right?
This message was last edited by the player at 15:06, Tue 24 Sept 2019.

Yeah its 13 HD.

Wait. No its not 13. Invicinble Iron Generals give your undead +1 HD. For a Small Mob their hit die are 10 + (2 * HD) so that's 14 HD. (rule on pg. 152)
This message was last edited by the player at 15:10, Tue 24 Sept 2019.

Expect poss to dribble in over the next 24hrs, my friends.
Thank you for your patience.

Mostly done.

Athius, I gotta refresh my newbie-ST brain on rules for Mobs on Mobs ... so I’ll get a post out to you a little later.  My apologies.

No problema, I'll be waiting. :)

Not my best posts, I am sorry ... But hopefully enough to keep the stories moving along, and give your characters some ability to forward your stories in the ways you wish.

I'm home from my spontaneous sabbatical tomorrow, and can sit at my computer for the next round of posts (rather than using my phone; which is frustrating).

I'm confused, it says all the OOC threads updated.  What am I missing?

It must do that when I update one, then reshuffle (bump) them back into my ocd-preferred order.

I added to the 1.5 thread, btw.

Ahhh, nice.

Loving this game so far.

Thank you, I’m loving running it for you all.
We have some awesome players/characters contributing here.

It’ll be another few days, likely, before I can post, friends.
Thank you for baring with me.

Sorry all, but I'll have to take a break from Rpol. I'll surely keep reading stuff here, but posting will be complicated, so I'll have to leave the game.

Big sorry for the GM, thanks for having me. My adventure was pretty cool so far.

Thanks all, and see you around.

Sorry to lose you Athius.  Hope you were having fun here.

I hope I was able to entertain, even if only for a brief time.

Come look this game up again, if your ever in the proverbial neighbourhood.
It was nice having you along.

Sorry it's taken me so long to reply lately, partly got a weird work schedule and part of it is trying to figure out exactly what I want to post. XD

Galley.....

I don't know or care if you're pulling from books, or just free forming it..... but A+ on the worldbuilding my friend.

Holy shit.
This message was last edited by the player at 07:20, Wed 09 Oct 2019.

Well thank you very much.  What a lovely compliment.
I’m glad you are enjoying my game.

It was entertaining indeed. Very good GMing. :)

Ooooh, theres a nice seed in there for a Miracle;  likely a Greater Gift.
Can anyone say 'Gangrel' ?!?

I maaaaay have run a VtR 2.0 game here on rpol that hit 20k posts in four years.

I had a lot more time at work to dick around back then.
This message was last edited by the player at 06:03, Tue 15 Oct 2019.

I swear to fucking god, I have had the worst rolls so far.

19:02, Today: Chandriss, the Unmade rolled 5 using 1d20.  Wisdom.

Can I Commit Effort for the day to do a Miracle of Fate to pass that roll?
This message was last edited by the player at 02:13, Thu 17 Oct 2019.

It's sadly an ability check.

Whoops. Missed that entirely. Yeah it'll be up to the GM I guess on that Miracle call.

Fate is good for just outright changing results so perhaps you have a good argument?

Hey folks.  Sorry, I’m in one of my spontaneous RL spins.
It’ll likely be about 48hrs or so before I post again.  I am sorry.


Yes, I’ll be allowing Chandriss to Fate her way into that success.

Ok, firstly, my apologies for keeping you all waiting for so long.

Secondly, some facts and thoughts:


I know own 'Lexicon of the Throne'.  At this time, I have perused (at best) the various sections ... but I see no problem with most of the Celestial Words being brought into play.
I am not impressed with the Concept Words, so for now, will be not using them.
The Word of Desire, of course, causes concern.   While, ironically and hypocritically, I am fine with physical abuse, assault and murder ... I am uncomfortable with anything that might lead to Emotional or Sexual abuse and assault.
Having said that, I remind myself that any one of you could go 'there' even without the Word ... and so am thinking that I really ought to trust you all, even with the Word.  But anyone asking for it can expect a polite, slightly authoritative lecture/request to avoid such a use.  After all, Desire for objects and non-sexual actions can be the focus of the Word also, right!


I have been thinking that maybe I should hold off on awarding Dominion until I can see Players making 'world changing' actions, and using their Influence.  But then, another part of me says, maybe by giving Dominion is the best way to encourage such activity.
And I'm leaning that way:  towards encouraging, rather than simply rewarding.


Finally, I know you've all been patient.   While I am still not ready to start 'levelling folk up' just yet (I'd like to see the character's stories develop a little more first), you guys deserve some XP soon.
So I'll be doing that in the near future.


Does anyone have any concerns, questions or advice for me?

Well, I tried to make some changes but you said it wasn't time yet. Also, didn't have nearly enough to do what I needed to do.

Woo!  More books and leveling soon.

Having played several games of this, including one ongoing game that has had several thousand posts since I joined, I will say it's hard for most level 1 characters to make big things happen.  Earth is one of the big exceptions to that, which was one of the reasons I picked it for this game.

It's not till level 3 or 4 that you really start to feel like a god.

Level 1 is just kinda... a super strong mortal.  Maybe a level 8 or 9 DnD character.
This message was last edited by the player at 05:11, Wed 23 Oct 2019.

Stealth edit.

You're right, that was the book.

I meant the Tahul Alqalea, the fortress of stone she left on the border of the Oasin desert.

I think letting us develop Dominion through Mechanics would give us more opportunities to flex it when we are able. My character of course is not yet there, on a meta sense anyway, so I can only speak on a grander sense.

Also, sorry it's taken me awhile to post.

No apologies needed, friend Giovanni.
Thats the beauty of solo players in a sandbox game ... everyone moves at their own pace.

Calling it now, famous last words!
This message was last edited by the player at 04:07, Mon 04 Nov 2019.

 A tower ten feet wide and twenty high.

Would she be able to raise stones underneath the trees at steep angles to topple them away from her?

So Wikipedia tells me:

Which would make Chandriss’ bastion about 1 1/2 stories.   Is that about what you want?

And yes, I’d say that you could displace the trees by manipulating the ground below them.
Will you add that to your post?

On it!

And done.

Guess who hasn't been adding their relevant attribute modifier to damage, it's me!

What do you think would be appropriate for an attack based on crushing your opponent with the bones of the earth?

Dexterity for precision, Strength for might, Wisdom for.... wisdom, Constitution to represent the fortitude of earth and stone?

I’d say Strength.   To me, such brutal and shattering and explosive damage speaks of the Str attribute.


And thanks for reminding me.   I have been forgetting the same for the NPC challenges.

Ha, Strength gives me a +0, so everything is accurate.

So I got brave, and over-confident, and advertised for new Players.   ;-P
And I'm glad to be introducing them to you all soon ... watch for their solo threads popping up soon.


Also, I've added a 'mechanics log' ... by way of tracking Experience Points, Influence and Dominion.
All current PC's will be seeing some Exp and Dominion coming their way soon, as I promised.  Each of you is currently in some kind of conflict situation ... and once you are done, I plan on rewarding you for putting up with me.


Also, have thoughts about this system, that I intend to share with you all in time; seeking your wisdom and guidance.
Call it a 'house rules discussion' thread, kinda thing.   It'll come, when the time is right.

Welcome to a wonderful game, new people.

Solo start Godbound is the best kind, and our DM does a fantastic job building the world.  I imagine we will start encountering each other eventually, but so far we've been given lots of time and opportunities to stretch our legs.

Welcome new players. Looking forward to playing with you all soon.

Welcome new folks!

before I post in my thread, I need to ask about something to may change my judgement. Is the Winter Man standing over a body? Like a dead one or an unconscious one? I figure if it's either of those I wouldn't be able to tell without checking, but I also am unsure if that is actually there, given there is no other mention of it and I want to be sure before I act.

The Winter Man is, indeed, standing over a body ... which is lying at his feet in the narrow bookshelf aisle.
And correct, Giovanni cannot tell of the body on the floor is alive, dead, dying.

Hey everyone, thanks for the welcome! Hopefully over the next day or two I should get all my sheets and stuff finished up and get into things with you all. :)

Bravely bold Sir Chandriss, she bravely ran away.

I admit that I am still learning to judge conflict and threat levels.
Right now, we have one PC posing through the meager threat I gave him, one PC feeling that his character might be about to die, and one PC ‘bravely running away’.

;-p    Me thinks me needs more practice.



On another note: I am in the middle of several 12hr night shifts.
It’s easy for me to post quick replies/comments, but difficult to do more complex stuff like combat posts (I work solely from my phone).
So IC posts might be a few days away, I regret.

But I’ll use the brief online opportunities to help with character creation for the new players, and other bits for the established players.

I'm very familiar with Godbound, yet I think I've only ever had one scene with a fight in it.  It's entirely possible I could have won that and I just didn't know.  Chandriss doesn't know either though, so she fled.
This message was last edited by the player at 04:40, Wed 13 Nov 2019.

Ello all!

Hello Annastarria, welcome to the best kind of madness.

I did make my character with combat very much in mind. I am, afterall, trying to tame the Bleak Reach with my barehands.

Where as I am not combat focused at all, I almost never make combat centered Godbound.  The Voice of Sharlai was combat focused, for anyone who played in Fates Intervention, but that was my only character out of the 7 or so I've made that was that way.

Chandriss has one good combat trick, and it didn't cut it against these beasties.

Next level I might fix that.
This message was last edited by the player at 06:04, Wed 13 Nov 2019.

I've taken a somewhat round-about approach to combat.

I turn into a sandstorm. It's great xD

Hi Everyone!

Just finishing up my character.

I would like to run into one of you relatively soon. A big goal of Urbs is to unite with some other Godbound.

He prefers cities and isnt a super combat character, but he's got some ability to unite a city and help them fight better.

Maybe the reach?

Hey Regium. Where are you currently? I'm in Ancalia.

Due to the character's background, that's not decided yet. They are looking for Godbound to deal with a particular issue.

Got you. Well Aleni is an Ancallian knight whose purpose is to drive back the eldritch forces of the Night Roads that erupted all over during the Cataclysm. I will venture to any land that holds promise in dealing with the threats in Ancali but my ultimate goal is to cleanse the land of all Night Roads and their spawn.

That said I don't have an offensive power to my name and my words are really about helping people more than hurting them: Health, Wealth, and Fertility. I'm looking to pick up Sun and Protection before Level 10 but as you might imagine I'm doing that to better help people too.

We could build one hell of a Kingdom between us (Entropy, Cities, Command).

That we could. So long as you would rule in accordance with the tenets of the One. Can't align myself with a Godbound that is interested in abusing people or his divinely gifted powers.

Yeah, it would be short term until they can get the ball rolling themselves.

We Godbound have bigger things to deal with.

Ok.  So after finally getting one good night sleep after a string of 12hr Night Shifts ...

I have managed to get responses out to the existing PCs.
And log all the new PC applicants: 5 of them.

I am still working with each of them to negotiate their characters:  one, I think, is ready to go, but I gotta just check some stuff and ask some questions.

New PC threads will be appearing soon.

https://youtu.be/tCpMIe8FjEU

I'm also in Ancalia, and have some similarities in objectives.

If you wanted to run into other Godbound quickly, Ancalia is your best bet.

That's fair. Just going over with GS on where to start and what go aim for.

One of the funny things about my character is that, due to their odd nature and a certain gift in Entropy, they will do things without understanding why.

Hope everyone had a good weekend!

Had an incredibly productive weekend, been an insane few months and it's only going to get more so, so I'm trying to stay ahead.  How are you?

@DM. You mentioned XP coming our way sooner or later, what I do next is 100% determined by if I get that 3 XP or not.  I'm assuming Chandriss is still level 1 then?
This message was last edited by the player at 02:42, Tue 19 Nov 2019.

I had an insanely non-productive weekend, which was good for my sanity at least.

We did get some Xmas shopping done online, which was nice.

I have been gaming now for nigh on 35 years.    I've played and GMed more systems than, in fact, I can actually remember.
But from my experience,  I can identify that two elements to a game system that draw my attention.

The first is simplicity.   I'm not one for lots of rules and formulas and permutations.  I am drawn to 'rules lite' systems that allow me to just be narrative, in my playing and my GMing: sometimes flying by the proverbial seat of my pants, creating the fun and cinematic that excite my creative juices.

The second thing that draws me to a system is seeing something in it that I haven't seen elsewhere.  Something new; something that I'd like to try for the first time.

Godbound is both these.
For the latter, it is the Influence/Dominion system ... a way to use simply mechanics and narrative to allow the PCs to make some definitive and very real changes to their world.

I am about to award the four existing characters (Aleni, Chandriss, Giovanni and Xin) 3 Experience points ... and give Aleni, Giovanni and Xin their first 2 Dominion.
This will take Chandriss (who has already received and spent 2 Dominion) to Level 2 ... and will give the other three the opportunity to rise to level 2 when they are ready (by using those 2 Dominion to make a significant change to their world).

This is a bit intimidating for me, but also exciting ... as we start to develop Cults now, and I have to be ready to hand out Dominion on a regular basis, and watch you all screw over my *ahem* finely tuned world with your crazy schemes.


I am also about to start introducing a few of the new characters (Ahmose, Urbs and Resolve); ones who are now ready to start play.
Please welcome them along.

One of them will tie in to a story arc that I'll be running in the Oasis-Nezdohva area.
The other two whom I'm about to introduce will be joining in the story arc of Ancalia.
This message was last edited by the GM at 08:42, Tue 19 Nov 2019.

Woo, level 2!

SO glad to be a part of this game, most Godbound games don't make it past the first scene, let alone the first level.

Ancillia is going to be a mess with four Godbound running around, I can't wait.

Yay experience and Dominion. I already have a plan in mine for what I'll do with mine and look at that an entire town just ready and waiting for me to alter with divine power.

Ah, Urbs has the City Word.  My absolute favorite Word in the game.

Oh yeah, it's very solid at what it does.

And before you ask, yes, I took THAT gift.

THAT gift to me is the pair of lesser gifts that lets you eavesdrop on everyone.

I'm guessing you mean the Greater Gift.

Sorry again for the hold up on my end, I have some work related stuff that is constantly going high and low, and it's really sapping my motivation. I know exactly what I'm going to do next, but I need my IRL to stablize just a smidge more. Please bear with me. I'll act on that Winter Man soon.

No problemo, friend Giovanni.
Life gets like that at times.  It’s one of the benefits of (initially) play ... we move your characters story at your speed.


On that note, Everyone;
I’m working the next few night (12hr) shifts.  And sleeping all day.
Posts, if they come at all, will be sporadic until the weekend.

Another new PC will enter play at that time, also.

Ei ei ei
I'll try to get some posts in soon, but life is kicking me to the proverbial at the moment.  Work is in overdrive, and the Festive Season is swinging in on its golden chariot with a fanfare playing.
I am sorry that you guys are going to suffer for this, as my posting will remain unreliable ... maybe for the next week.


edit:  I am tired, with a sore head. I've just sat here for like 20 minutes looking at several PC threads, trying to make my head work, and get my creative juices flowing.  And it aint happening.
And now I am required to help put up the Christmas Tree.

I'll get you you soon, my friends.
This message was last edited by the GM at 01:53, Sun 24 Nov 2019.

No worries, take good care of yourself man.

I’m doing my best, Chandriss, thank you.


Still working way more than is good for a soul, and with Silly Season obligations kicking in (especially at my daughter’s school).
My wife’s grandfather has passed, and so she’s off on the other side of the country dealing with family matters.

But I needed to let you all know that I haven’t forgotten you ... and have every intention of returning ASAP.
Thank you for your patience.

Ok, my next steps, over the next 48hrs are to get Ahmose and Katusha into play.

Welcome, welcome.

Hi, other new players!

Allo, allo.

I'm curious who are going to be the first two Godbound to actually meet.

Hi everyone.

I'm technically not "new" here but seeing as I never actually posted with my previous character I hardly think that counts.

Who were you before?

Zuana Volpe. I posted once in this thread right at the start of the game and then never again. I had a lot of behind the scenes trouble with that character and it translated into nothing getting posted.

I found my way back here completely by accident, dropped the GM a line to apologise for before and ultimately ended up making a new character who I'm a lot happier with.

Oh man, Deception/Knowledge/Night is not easy.

Glad you found something that clicks.  I always have a billion and a half character ideas, but actually making one work is a totally different ballgame.

Mhm. I made the classic mistake of coming up with an interesting concept and making a character around it only to find that I had absolutely no idea how to properly realise them once it came down to actually producing something in-character. Really I think I was trying to be a bit too clever and succeeded only in making myself look stupid for my efforts.

Katusha is a little weird but nice and straightforward. I've also done some thinking with the GM to set up some precautions so it's easier to get me out of a hole if I have trouble again.

I dig weird, Chandriss is probably the most straightforward character I've ever made for this system. I just really, really, really wanted to have fun around Builder of the Mountain Peaks and the Earth Word.  So, Chandriss.

Glad you've found something fun.

Welcome new players. Looking forward to playing with you all eventually.

@Katusha Yeah I've walked into that trap before. Aleni is definitely a tamer concept but I am liking him quite a bit. I hope you have a similar experience.

Things seem to be stabilizing for me, so I'll try to get my post up this week. Sorry for the long wait GS ^^;

I posted earlier, but since we're on the subject: Hi! hopefully I'll run into some of you all IC at some point!

Hi. Just checking in?

I suspect the holiday season is slowing things down. Pretty much every game I'm in is like that right now. No cause for alarm I don't think

Our DM works 12 hour back to back shifts, sometimes for up to a week, and then usually posts when they are on an extended weekend.

Add holidays to the extended weekend, and you get this.

No worries though.  It's rare for Godbound GMs to make it through the first scene, let alone the first chapter.  We are so far past that.  I have nothing but confidence in this game's continued health.
This message was last edited by the player at 16:42, Mon 09 Dec 2019.

Fair enough!

In reply to Katusha Serebrenikov (msg # 154):

I'm having similar issues in revising character design - probly a good sign this group puts so much thought into it - but look forward to 'seeing' yaw out in the wild before too long

Hello, my friends.
Yes, it is as said:    The GM is somewhat overworked and overwhelmed ... and, regrettably, leaves his awesome players proverbially hanging at times.  I am sorry for that.

I do try to make your patience worthwhile with each post, pushing your story along in a meaningful way.
But if that doesn’t always happen, I apologies for that, also.

In that vein, let us continue.

It seems that I’ll be bringing Urbs and Aleni together soon ... but I’d ask each player to let me do so in my own time, rather than forcing this yourselves.

No problem.

Real life takes precedence.

And thanks for running this!

@Korvos.

I am very familiar with the system, and love character creation.  If you are having trouble translating concept into mechanics I'd be happy to brainstorm with you.
This message was last edited by the player at 01:07, Tue 10 Dec 2019.

I need to get one more level before I can turn this city into a ridiculously well-built city. There are so many "this gift can't be miracled" gifts :>

Also, I can cross off "brought a Disney music number into Godbound (without using music)" off my to-do list.
This message was last edited by the player at 05:48, Tue 10 Dec 2019.

If that was on your to-do list.. then I want to see the rest of it. :D

Sheesh;  Festive Season my ass,  work my ass off Season!

I am, as always, sorry for the dribblence of posts and responses.   I am attempting to get more in as the days go by, but this next week or so will be ... stressful.

Having said that, I hope 'the most wonderful time of the year' is good for you all.
For those who this time of year is of sadness or regret, for whom it is not 'the most wonderful time', I hope you find some way to get through it, and find some semblance of joy where you can.

Even for those of us without negatives, the season can be full of stress.   Do treat yourselves well, my friends.   Love yourself, as you would have others love you.
And enjoy the give and receive, for both can be a part of revitalising the soul.
This message was last edited by the GM at 03:57, Fri 20 Dec 2019.

In reply to galley_slave (msg # 170):

Peace and love, everyone.

Awww, what a sweet message, thank you.

To answer your question.

She doesn't think she can destroy the Celestial Engine or the Night Gate, she will be very surprised if she is wrong.

She's hoping to bury them both in thousands of tons of rock so that it takes the Illithids years to excavate them, also freeing her to travel without interruption through the collapsed stone to collect a Celestial Shard or five.

But, essentially, Chandriss is not taking any special care to preserve the Engine or the Portal?
If the cave is and avalanche destroy them, so be it, eh!

She wouldn't think she'd need to.

She's going to be very surprised if she's wrong.

Well, it’s 8pm on a Christmas Eve, where I’m sitting.
I hope the best for each of you;  it you’ll not likely see me posting for the next week, I am sorry.

Be well, my friends.

Happy Yule to all!

Just saying hi! Hope everyone had a great Xmas!

Hey, all.
I hope it was a good Christmas for you all.

What a week+ though.  I did a week of work in three days, then had three days of family obligations, and am now in the middle of 60hrs work in 5 days.

I’ll get back to this game in a few days, my friends.

Glad to hear it, triply so as one of my other Godbound games just folded, take good care of yourself until then.
This message was last edited by the player at 19:36, Sat 28 Dec 2019.

Its 11.50pm on Dec 31, where I am sitting in the world.
And I wish every one of you a happy new year: may it bring each of you some awesome surprises.

Happy new years everyone!

Now that the holiday madness is past, maybe I can get to actually posting in my thread.. -_-

Well I’d like to thank you all for your patience.
While my hectic work roster will continue until schools resume in several weeks, the added obligations of the Festive Season have been fulfilled, and are behind me.
I sincerely hope to begin posting as the next few days go by ... and moving all character stories along some (including getting started a few that haven’t quite yet begun).

I hope you all had the Festive Season possible for you.

Hahaha!  It worked!

Your character is a real brickhouse (boo?)

Narratively, I couldn’t see how it couldn’t, really.
Chandy is pretty much untouchable, and can just pound them mercilessly until she is satisfied.
So ...

You go, grrrrl

I'm starting to feel like Earth, Fate, and Cities are the most powerful words in the game.  That said, only a level ago a pack of Intellect Devourers where enough to send me running into the hills.

I've never gone up against someone abusing Alacrity though.  Alacrity and Earth would be terrifying.

I’ll keep that in mind!

Alright I have returned.

Also yeah those words are quite good. I also think Artifice is quite broken, especially when paired with Sorcery. Ten Thousand Tools and Transmuter are some of my favorites. Combine that with Trumpet of Far Utterance, Path to the Bright Sanctum, Legion of Marching Clay, and Palace of the Sorcerer Prince and you have a god among gods.

I have to admit, the concept I really want to play is a sorcery/artificer.
But as yet, only found one game in which the GM permitted it; and the game ended after a few initial posts.

I don't see Sorcery as quite as powerful, since you can do most of that with Dominion or Gifts and it costs a lot of investment to get to the Throne. It's a useful toolbox but not a game-breaker.

Artifice, on the other hand, is one of the most powerful and useful Words in itself.

I've learned that Sorcery is a rather divisive Word. A lot of peoples ultimate outcomes depend on the GM, or at least from my experience that is what I have seen/heard.

Theurgy gives you a great deal of diversity and if you can reasonably find more invocations during play then you really get the bang for your buck. Of course Rank of Pale Bone isn't as great as a Dominion expenditure from a Death Word Godbound but I don't need death if I have sorcery and undead aren't the primary focus on my character arc.

Also theurgy has some of the loosest limits for any non-Dominion ability. Legion of Marching Clay for instance has no limit for how many soldiers you can have overall, just how many can be made per activation. Give a Sorcery Word Godbound time and armies will rise. (i've seen this argued before as an inaccurate interpretation of the invocation but I always point to Summon Black Iron Servitor as a good counter example.)

Hi all, sorry for my absence.   The Christmas - School Holidays period is always a time of much extra Shifts at my work.  I pick up a lot of extra shifts, and work myself to the bone during this period, and rake a lot of money, but along with the Festive and New Year obligations, it puts a lot of drain on me.  This year, that drain got to much, and I fell asleep behind the wheel on one of my night shifts.
Damned lucky to survive, is the truth: the Light Pole I went through (and the car) weren’t so lucky.

And the accident has triggered a lot of stuff beyond.
I’ve had precious little time or enthusiasm for RPoLing; but that is changing, as things settle back into some semblance of normality.
I’ll get back in to posting soon; I promise.



Edit:  oh, and this be public Post #666 in the game
This message was last edited by the GM at 09:16, Sun 19 Jan 2020.

In reply to galley_slave (msg # 192):

Yikes!!!!

Holy shit galley, take good care of yourself.

I'm glad you came through in one (roughly) piece.  Take all the time you need.

It was, indeed, a Yikes!
But I was very lucky.   The car was totalled, and the pole I hit (severed it off at ground level, snapping all four bolts) catapulted into the air and came down on the roof ... 10cm from my head.  If it’s been 10cm to the right, it would have caved in my head, as well as the roof.
But I walked away without a scratch or bruise.

The ramifications, though ...

If you fell asleep at the wheel during your job... I'm guessing you have a lot more free time for a bit

You’d think so, eh.
You might think that a responsible employer (like the state Police Department) would offer some time off, or some desk duties for a while (or even a counsellor to talk to) ... but no.   Not a word, and straight back behind the wheel on my next shift.
I can’t afford to just ‘take time off’; I have a family to support.  But for sure, I’m looking around for a new job.

Whoa.  That's a very close call.  Be safe.

damn cuz, that deserves a better response than I can think of atm.  Glad you're good

In reply to galley_slave (msg # 192):

I'm sorry to hear about your accident but I'm glad that you made it out alive. Please take as much time as you need. I will be around.

So, confession time.   And I’ve left it too long already ... left you all waiting.

Life is kicking my ass at the moment.   My wife is back I hospital (lifelong physical issues for her), which leaves me pretty much as a single dad; trying to work full time, take care f the family (including the wife in hospital).  Like I said, I pushed myself pretty hard and had that accident, which hasn’t helped anything.
And the ol’ Black Dog is circling out there in the proverbial darkness.

I’ve tried to get my creative juices happening, tried to come back and give you all some love ... but at the moment, it’s just to much.
Creative Block is causing me even more anxiety; as is the guilt of leaving you all hanging.



I guess what I’m saying is, please forgive my absence ... because I suspect it’ll be a while before I’m ready to get involved again.
You have my deepest apologies: to those who were ‘on their path’ and so involved and interested, and to those who I promised a story but never quite got it under way.

I don’t know where life is taking me, so will make no promises.
But I truly hope life, and gaming, is good to you all.
I’ll not delete this game, because I want to believe that I’ll be back to it, but till then I thank you all and wish you well.

Dont worry about it.

"My wife is in the hospital" and "I was just in a car crash" are pretty good reasons to get knocked for a loop.

You communicated the issues with us, which is very important. Plus Godbound is a very ambitious game to run given what the PC's can do.

Be well

Seriously, what Regium said.

On the list of reasons to not run a  game "hey I need to raise my kid," would be a golden one, even if it wasn't proceeded by "my wife's in the hospital and I'm so tired from taking care of everything I wrapped my car around a tree."

Take care of yourself, and please do not feel any regret on our end.  You've done nothing wrong by us, and I wish you and everyone in your life nothing but a speedy recovery.  Thank you for the story, you were amazing, and please take good care.

With love and respect.
This message was last edited by the player at 16:07, Sun 09 Feb 2020.

My rule is that there is no judgment about real life coming first.  Good luck to your wife and hope that things look up quickly -- don't let this be a source of anxiety at any point.  We're here if you want to pop in for a short creative break now and then.

Sorry I was absent often, but I was always keeping an eye regardless. Absolutely please take care of yourself and your family first and foremost. I think most of us will still be around if and when you come back. I will if you will still have me as well.

For those still around these hallowed boards:

Greetings, and may life be your ally in all things.
Its been 3 years since I've come here.  And my life looks very different than it used to.
I am not returning to RPoL or this game, enough to make it work.   And so I am advising you all that I'll be deleting this game from the site in one week.    Please, if there is anything here that you want, do grab it between now and then.

I want to thank each and every one of you for your participation;  it really was loving making stories with you all.
I hope that you are all out there, still making stories.


“People think that stories are shaped by people. In fact, it's the other way around.
Find the story, Granny Weatherwax always said. She believed that the world was full of story shapes. If you let them, they controlled you. But if you studied them, if you found out about them... you could use them, you could change them”

“Stories don't care who takes part in them. All that matters is that the story gets told, that the story repeats. Or, if you prefer to think of it like this: stories are a parasitical life form, warping lives in the service only of the story itself”

“There's always a story. It's all stories, really. The sun coming up every day is a story. Everything's got a story in it. Change the story, change the world.”
- Terry Pratchett;  A Hat Full of Sky

“If you don't turn your life into a story, you just become a part of someone else's story.”
-Terry Pratchett;  The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents

“Narrativium is powerful stuff. We have always had a drive to paint stories on to the universe. When humans first looked at the stars, which are great flaming suns an unimaginable distance away, they saw in amongst them giant bulls, dragons, and local heroes.
Concepts like gods, truth and soul appear to exist only in so far as humans consider them to do so... But they work some magic for us. They add narrativium to our culture. They bring pain, hope, despair, and comfort. They wind up our elastic. Good or bad, they've made us into people.
Humans add narrativium to their world. They insist in interpreting the universe as if it's telling a story. This leads them to focus on facts that fit the story, while ignoring those that don't.”
- Terry Pratchett;  The Science of Discworld



Be well my friends.

Glad to know that you are alive out there in the wider world. May life be good to you wherever it takes you.

THank you kindly for the heads up, I have things I want to grab.

Glad to hear you are still kicking, wishing you the best.
This message had punctuation tweaked by the player at 04:33, Mon 16 Oct 2023.

Good morning all,
I will delete later today or tomorrow.      Last Drinks, folks.

Was a great game, cheers!

Adieu all. May more games spring from the ashes of this one.