Welcome to a world full of intrigue and scandals, a strange cosmos inhabited by a myriad of timeless powerful beings whose whims dictate the reality we know. You have been born onto the world tree -or perhaps simply a world tree- and live amongst newly budded branches. This is a newly sprouted world tree, a mere sapling still in its earliest days. These are the wild and optimistic times of creations childhood, anything is possible and will be possible. You will have the chance to shape this world tree that divinities born later will envy. But this is also a dangerous time to be alive. Multiple gods vie to be called the true god of their domain, planes and dimensions are still unstable and deciding their purpose. It is a lawless, wild age.

And you are a newborn god, one of the first generation of this new age. Whether you worry yourself with the grand plan for this new tree, whether you seek to establish your legacy or if you seclude yourself to your domain and your peoples, the choice is yours.

The powers to which you are born are mighty and unpredictable. You possess a branch of this new world tree, a domain to call your own. A race of your own making stands ready to obey your every command. You may rule them as you wish; be it kind and benevolent, or cruel and tyrannical.  This may excite you, this may bore you, but it’s all yours.

Note: Theogenesis is a sandbox style game centered around choice and player agency. It's equal parts world building and also intrigue and drama in the vein of ancient Greek myths. You will be given external pressures to respond to, but it's equally important to have goals of your own. A god can accomplish nearly anything if they dedicate themselves to the task.

The Gods

The first thing about being a god is that you are a very powerful influence in the realm divine, but not the most powerful.  Not yet, anyways. There are a number of things a god has to worry about, especially a fledgling god. On the top of the list are other gods, divine grudges can quickly unfurl into cataclysmic wars that destroy realms and break worlds.  Gods are the single greatest threat to your person.  Next are the various other entities that transverse the realms divine; Dragons, Elementals, Aberrations, and other such creatures.  These entities can destroy realms, caution is advised when dealing with any type of creature of any power.

Objective:  The objective of the game is what you choose, but you walk upon a tree that is rife with creation, mysteries and powers lost for time beyond measure. Your motivation is purely your own, you may seek knowledge, quests, power, or love.  Whatever it may be, the potentials are limitless and your motivation entirely up to you.  This tree is shrouded, its history obscured. Think wisely, and take nothing for granted.

There are perks to being a god, here are your godly attributes which aid you in your quest.  You may:
-Create portals to other realms by which to travel, or create a portal to your realm which other gods may enter or exit.
-Send up a Divine Flare. (Notifies other divinities/entities to your presence)
-Sense that there is a divinity within 100 feet, though not the location.

Gods exist in a complex cosmos full of powerful creatures, but there are many more weak creatures which the god can destroy with a flick of the wrist, or even a flick of the index finger.  For all intents and purposes, a divinity is nearly impervious to mortals.  One strike even by the weakest god kills a normal mortal. Mortal weapons are as a sharks teeth are to the steel carapace of a submarine. Ineffectual.

Gods may also die.  But death is just another experience to the god, he may die more than once, but there are rules to death a god must follow.  We’ll mention the macabre a little later, for now let us focus on other matters, yes?

Creating Your God

See the character creation thread as the process is involved.

Paradox and Traveling:

Due to the god’s very nature  he can move through worlds and realms unhindered and reside in multiple places at multiple times.
Realms:  A god may manifest in any number of normal realms they desire, which includes their home domain.
Secret Realm: A god must secure a way into this realm and cannot simply chose to enter with said way in. What occurs here is hidden from divine eyes.
Secure Realm: To enter a Secure Realm a god must focus their sole efforts there. They collapse all their other versions of themselves and may exist nowhere else so long as they dwell in a Secure realm.

Your Realm

The god’s realm is their seat of power in the world tree, a refuge and haven for them in times of struggle. Other god’s may know the public goings on of other realms through informants, word of mouth or other tools they later discover. Barring having an in-character source of knowledge, what occurs in these realms remains unknown. 

Upon creation of the character there must be a name included with the realm, and the people within must also be named- no exceptions.  The realm is influenced by you, as are the people which reside within.  A god may do whatever he likes to his people, but what he does and how he interacts with them can determine their development and their love for their god. Your realms are old, perhaps older than their own god, which begs a number of philosophical questions, but is ultimately of little consequence beyond the fact that you will start in a region which has its own history.

This realm is... cozy. Its borders are humble and lands bounded on each side. This realm can grow and expand, but it will require their god to lend their effort to do so. If and when it is expanded a new province will be added each time. Each province can initially hold three benefits, though this limit can be pushed to an extent by an industrious god.

What the realm looks like is dependent upon the taste of the god, but generally a realm described won’t deviate too much from the form. 

Gods will begin in their realm. A relatively safe haven before they journey out beyond the safety of their borders.

Each region of a domain can hold three 'benefits.' These vary wildly just as gods do. They represent work that a god has invested into a region and which has manifested in a tangible benefit. The number of benefits available can be increased through the expenditure of Essence, by Aramanth, or by adding on new provinces.

Domains can also have 'complications.' There is no limit to the number a domain can contain. Some of these are temporary and can be solved through the efforts of the ruling god. Some are simply a fact of this domains life and can be mitigated through effort and planning, but never truly erased. Complications are over time and also manifest by the meddling of outside gods or when the ruling god dies.

Note: Gods can learn the goings on of any public realm, but it takes some in-character effort on their part. A god who simply claims to know things about other gods realms which they have no business knowing may draw the ire of world tree.

Divine Scope: When conducting work in your realm grand projects will often take properly divine lengths of time. If you choose to build a cathedral it may take you a century. Redirecting a river may take decades. Mortals may quail at the notion of spending so much time at a task, but time far less of a concern to a god. Time also passes differently within your domain than in other parts of the world tree, so while you may spend a century leveling a mountain in your domain, you can still interact with other gods in Realms beyond.

People

The god’s chosen people are for him to do with what he pleases.  He could slaughter them all for his own gain, though it’s generally better to keep them around.  But literally anything is free game with the people, abuse and use them if you wish. Treat them as sacred or carbonize them into husks. What you do with them is your own business. How you teach and interact with them does affect their outlook and culture, their general sense of wellbeing, and their strength as a whole.  Take nothing for granted with these, for although they are loyal to the god, they possess minds and wills all their own.

The god’s race is subject to the same powers which allow him to warp his realm.

Time within a gods domain does not progress regularly. There are times when gods will slumber and their domains will progress without them, for good or ill. These can occur after the gods engages in grand enterprises which tire them or after great battles from which they must recover. This also always happens after a god dies.

So carefully consider the works you have set into motion. There will be times they were proceed without your watchful eye.

Ascendancy and Advancement:
To truly measure one god against another is impossible, though divinities love to try. The power of a god is not measured by one single trait. One god may have a blade that can split the sun, but another has struck pacts with the living earth while another can forge divine power into objects. How does one weigh which god is greater than the other? Naturally the one who does the weighing inevitably finds themselves superior, but to an unbiased audience the answer is obvious: Each god is divine and thus worthy of healthy respect.

What can be agreed upon is that gods can always grow or improve themselves in an infinite number of ways. What better way to describe a god than an entity without limitations? Thus the greatest gods are those constantly in motion, those with plans for the future, those with goals. These gods will add chapters to their stories, titles to their name and a legacy that spans eons.

Growing your divinity is a matter of dedication. This is reflected in gaining a % of advancement towards tasks and goals. If you spend several posts dedicated to honing a skill, you'll gain a % towards that skill. When it reaches 100% you hit a milestone, either the goal is complete or, for the grander goals, you've reached some meaningful milestone towards it. You can be progressing towards multiple goals at a time and nearly anything is possible.

Death: 

Gods do die, but death is not the same for a god as it is a mortal. Upon being struck down, they'll return from the dead after a full days time. After a demise, a god is protected for a week from outside sources entering their realm.

Paradoxically, death does not leave a god weakened. Quite the opposite. They return in a burst of vitality, they gain new and strange powers or abilities due to their brief stint in the lands beyond life.

Gods may fall any number of times. So long as their domain remains intact they will have a place to reform. Some gods have even taken advantage of this, dying and being reborn frequently so gain power in rapid manner. But that does mot mean death does not come without consequence. Time passes different in their absence within their domain, what was a day for the god could be months, years or decades for their people and a garden left unattended it apt to grow weeds.

The inconvenience of their absence aside, death also leaves an imperceptible Stain of Death upon the god. It's a lingering touch of mortality. This is apt to draw negative reactions from other gods, who loathe this reminder of fallibility, it can make mortals more willful and primordial forces less respectful. So gods should be careful, lest they sully their divine mantles, but they can still be bolder than any mortal dares dream.

But there are limits to this immortality. Dying by the hands of beings from beyond the world tree is to experience true death. To lose one's realm is to lose the cradle of life and also invites true death. Then there are also locations which have been consecrated, to die there is to fall to true death.

Aramanth:

To drink the blood of another god is a vile act indeed, but the benefits are extremely rewarding.  To any god, the blood of another is god is empowerment.  Whenever a god is dealing the final blow to another god, he may instead aramanth his enemy.  He drinks in his divine essence, gaining one of their hard earned abilities or skills and carving away some portion of the consumed gods home domain.  However, it’s a vile deed to drink the lifeblood of another god, reap the rewards sown in repercussion. Others will be able to look upon you and know you've drunk of divine blood. It is a crime you will wear openly for all to see.

Essence:  Essence is an amalgam of what makes a realm, the invisible energy holding the realm together.  Essence is a powerful tool to a god. In later eras it will be a very rare power that should be used only sparingly. However, you have the advantage of being born at the cusp of creation, Essence will be more plentiful than any other time period. Count your blessings divinity.

There are ways in which the god may put the essence to use.  If they use the essence while in their realm, they can use it to do several things.  First off he can use it to super charge his realm, everything attacks and the realm begins crushing any invaders.  The god also becomes exponentially more powerful for a short time, taking less damage, and dealing more to his enemies.

They can also imbue weapons or religious sites with this essence to make them far more powerful in scope, the chosen weapon gains a power as if it were a god power. Outside your personal domain essence can also be used to influence other domains in ways normally impossible. Or to found powerful new organizations by drawing like minded individuals from across the tree. The essence may not be used to grant a god power, but he can use it on other things.

Essence is a malleable substance, it can be used for any ends and these are by no means the limits of its uses.

Expending Souls:

Each week your god obtains a currency called Souls. Souls do not represent the population of your realm but rather spiritual potential waiting to be harnessed so not to worry, no loyal minions will be consumed with the use of Souls. Expending souls can be used to customize and tailor your realm by fashioning heroes, locations or unique creatures.

Heroes:  Heroes are characters of great importance to a god and his realm.  Heroes are supremely skilled and powerful people in the realm.  These characters always seem to be a little luckier than most normal folk, their legends are told for generations to come.  A hero costs 500 souls to make.

Heroes will obtain a special power of the GMs choosing unless they possessed a unique power prior to being elevated.

Special units: Any kind of special unit costs 50 souls per unit.  Special units can do anything within the technological advancements of your realm. They could be a special elite force with simply better training, or they could actually do something special. Invisible stalkers that prowl the forest, maybe they ride giant wolves, or maybe fight with some deadly special weapon with deadly proficiency.  It could be anything.

Locations: While gods naturally possess the ability to shape their realm and can also imbue an area with great significance by expending Essence, using Souls falls somewhere in between. Spending 300 Souls, a god can craft a location that possesses a unique, but generally subtle, characteristic. A grove where it's always night with a full moon, or a ballroom where conversation always flows easily.

Seconds and Heirs

The nature of the god is a permeable thing, something that clings to whatever life essence it brushes against.  Mortals can feel it, and sometimes enough of himself can be given as to grant them lesser divine powers.  He can have two heirs, 1 heir and two seconds, or four seconds.  He cannot have more than that allotted amount of seconds and heirs.  Should the god lose their connection to their domain entirely, it will become the purview of their heir.  Now, you can have more than two children in game, it’s just that only two of them may be heirs.  It’s generally assumed that the first born is the heir unless otherwise stated by the god.

Battle: Conflict in a world of super powerful beings is sometimes inevitable. Every god has 10 HP, once he is reduced to 0 HP he is reduced to a helpless state.  His opponent can choose to kill him at that time, this is the point at which Aramanth must be achieved.  Once a god hits 0 HP, and his opponent decides to deliver a death blow to the god, then the god dies as per the rules of death for gods, and there's one strike tallied against his total deaths.

If he is reduced to zero HP and his opponent shows him mercy, his physical form disappears and will not reappear for a day's time, if he chooses to manifest again, that is.
This message was last edited by the GM at 16:13, Sun 19 June 2022.

These are some of your primary ways of interacting through the world. Weapons, Skills, And Magic.

All Skills come in ranks 1-5.

1 - Basic, the most rudimentary of skill.
2 - Journeyman, still attaining mastery/experience
3 - Master, you've trained hard and now respectable.
4 - Artisan, you've become a renowned expert of your field
5* - Peerless master. Your skill is legendary, your works and feats the stuff of myth.

*Rank 5 will only be attainable through quests and great effort. All prior ranks can be achieved through practicing and implementing your skills.

Note: Two gods can be equal in rank, but one can still be better than another. If both are doing heart surgery and one is the god of surgery, you can be sure their procedure will proceed faster and the subject recover with fewer complications.

Increasing Skill Ranks

There are a number of ways to increase in skill. The main way is to simply use your skills, make a pointed effort to practice them and improve. All progress in a skill will be given as a %. Advancement will be fastest when a god entirely devotes posts to their skill, the slowest method is throwing in a line mentioning that your god practices X skill while waiting the 6 months for their real project to finish.

Example: Jo spends a day balancing financial ledgers, cross referencing receipts and determining the depreciation of assets. She gains 5% towards her accounting skill.

Once you attain 100%, you reach the next level of proficiency.

As a general rule, obtaining new skills won't be very difficult, but advancing them will be. Choose well what you want to spend your valuable time on; it's easy to be become a clumsy jack-of-all-trades, but much more time consuming to become a master!

Skills:

The nature of skills and their function in the world.

Unlike Combat, the determination of which is based off of how you portray your god, and your divine rank; you have to actually practice skills to get better at them. Getting better at a skill is based off of RP, Actively training or practicing, or getting better through passive or active use.

In short, the more that you use a skill, the better that you will become at it.

There are four types of Skills:
Passive
Knowledge
Craft
Martial

Skills are anything that you can practice to get better at, that you can learn, and that you can teach. (Think real world skills.)  There are various types.

Passive Skills

Passive skills are passive because it is assumed that if you have this skill, it is something that you can perform with a certain degree of competence, and apply to play without having to explain in too much detail how it is you're doing these things.

Passive Skill Set:
*Athletics: Jumping, Running, Climbing, Swimming, and the like.
*Acrobatics: Flips, Tumbles, Balance, and the like.
*Stealth: Hiding, Infiltration, etc
*Thievery: Sleigh of Hand, Pick-Pocketing, Lock picking, etc.
*Deception: Lying, Goading, Obfuscating, and the like.
*Perception: How well you notice things, like lies, as well as how keen your senses are
*Persuasion: Bartering, Haggling, Negotiating, Politicking.
*Survival: Terrains, Tracking, Foraging, First aid, etc.

Think of passive skills as a list of things that you've gotten good at through practice and effort. Note the above list is not exhaustive, if you think of others ask.

If you have Athletics as a skill, for example, I'm going to assume that you're quite capable of leaping and bounding across a high mountain peak, or that you're quite adept at swimming, better, say, than the guy that decided not to take that.  (Note: I will always assume that your Characters Stats take precedence over skill, so even if you try to out climb a guy with a high might, he's very likely to win because he can pull himself up that cliff a hell of a lot faster than you can.)

Of course, these are guidelines, up to interpretation by the GM.

I hope this covers Passive skills and how they're used in the game.

Knowledge Skills

Knowledge skills are skills that can be taught largely through oral instruction, or through text books.  Basically, if you can learn it in a book, it's probably a knowledge skill.

Knowledge Skills are usually Theoretical- Concepts that are attained normally through study. Knowledge skills include, but are not limited to, the following:
Medicine
Tactics and Warfare
Biology
Engineering
Hunting
Architecture

You can cite these skills in certain situations to give yourself an edge at performing a certain function.

By citing a knowledge in a post, the GM might give you credibility or leeway in certain situations pertaining to your skill.  It's largely up to the discretion of the GM, but it does give you a bit more clout if you have knowledge.

Craft Skills

This is probably the most self explanatory of the skills.  These are skills that you use to create things. You don't have to be too specific, I'll assume that if you have leatherworking as a craft, that this encompasses all aspects of working with leather items. Craft skills include, but are not limited to, the following:
City Planning
Forging
Leatherworking
Bookmaking

Note: With crafting/knowledge skills there can be an overlap between the two. Someone with a high Craft rank for Architecture is skilled at executing the plan, but someone with a high Knowledge of Architecture might draw up beautiful plans and leave the crafting in others hands.

You should assume that, for every thing that you can do with a skill, there's a fruitful reward waiting for those that decide to take its application to its limits.

Martial Skills

To use a weapon, one must have a skill with said weapon. While anyone can wear armor, someone who is trained in its use will use it more effectively. Martial skills include, but are not limited, to the following:
Swords
Axes
Spears
Hand to Hand Combat
Bows
Light, medium, heavy armor

Magic

Levels of Magic
Aptitude - The seed of magic, unshaped and unformed. Pure potential. You must possess aptitude before you can begin down an arcane road.
Level 0 - You have the most basic of understandings of your school, you can work subtle effects, they take significant time/effort to cast
Level 1 - Magic heeds you, you can cast minor effects with some effort
Level 2 - Your skill is prodigious enough that you can cast with little thought/effort. You can affect up to several people at once or a moderate area
Level 3 - Your power is potent, deadly if you desire it, able to effect whole squadrons of soldiers at once and miles of land
Level 4 - Utilizing magic is as natural to you breathing, your power can wash across the lands, whole armies can be influenced at once.

The nature of the tree, being what it is, is inherently magical. The essence of magic interlaces with the worlds throughout.  As divinities you have been blessed with the ability to manipulate the aspects of this realm, including those powers which are beyond understanding.

Magic is a catch-all term.  It is better to describe magic as energy, and the gods as conduits by which it manifests into this world.

Magic exists, but is unknown, waiting to be discovered or created.

Upon Character Creation you will be able to trade skills for access to magical aptitude.  This is the seed by which magic will germinate into you, from the very moment that you start to use magic, you start to shape it's effects, what you can do with it.

Note: If you choose to begin with magic, you'll not actually know its nuances, you simply start with an aptitude for it that must be nurtured and studied. Those who do not begin with this aptitude must discover a source of magic in the course of their adventures.

Basically, whatever way you interpret magic, is how you use it.  You can even teach your way of magic to others. Magic is inferior to divine power, but versatile.

Behind the Scenes, Magic: 

Magic will be largely unformed at the start of this game. The laws of this tree are not yet established, schools and practices of magic are yet to be determined.

Will you use this energy as a weapon, slinging eldritch fire at your foes with unbridled ferocity? Or will you dissect its every inner workings and compose a system by which magic unfolds.

Will there, perhaps, be two opposing schools of magic in the world, with differing theories as to the inner machinations and workings of the magic, will there perhaps be opposing universities that teach various types of magic, just in different ways, or with different interpretations?

Or maybe you think that your way of magic is the only way, and you wipe out all others.

Its up to you.
This message was last edited by the GM at 00:49, Mon 30 May 2022.

You exist upon an unnamed World Tree. It has only just been born. Everything is new, rules are being established and dynamics set.

Residents of the World Tree

Graug, God of War
A hulking armored figured in spiked armor and bearing a massive blade. Also feminine in form, but this is merely a passing detail in the greater whole which is all savagery and strength.
This god bears the stain of a single act of Aramanth. They also now adorn the silver spear once carried by Lenacles.
Known Powers:
No Quarter - An entity engaged in combat with Graug cannot retreat or move away a meaningful distance.

Lenacles, God of War
Lithe and slender, their armor was carefully set plates of metal intended to protect but not inhibit mobility, the sleek armoring clearly shows their feminine form. Across their back they wear a silvered spear.

Nytal, God of Mingling
Their features shift, always existing somewhere between masculine and feminine. They wear sweeping robes that always manage to fit whatever social situation in which they find themselves.

Jannik, God of Fire
Wearing brilliant red robes and with a carefully sculpted mustache and goatee, Jannik radiated warmth, both a tangible heat like a cozy fire in the woods, but also a warmth of spirit, the sort that drew strangers around a hearth.
This god was witnessed to die within the Labyrinth of the Elements by the Primordial Fire.

Castago, God of Construction
His face was flat, both literally and metaphorically. Features were chiseled into, another literal description as the god was clearly made up of stone. While most of his features were a very close approximation of a normal mortals, such as a gentle curve to his shoulders and arms that had both tone and definition, he was still very much akin to a living statue. While the rest of the body was carved with exquisite detail, his face had only the barest attention given to. This less of expression carried over to his words.
Known Powers:
Tools Divine - Any tool held by the gods hand becomes up to the task.

Intiares, God of the Small
Riding atop a wasp, this god wears armor composed of folded leaves and a helmet that's an overturned flower. He carries a long barbed reed as a spear and moves with a dancer's grace.

Magicks

Kamihana
Origin: Irani, the Prince of Blossoms

Schools of Kamihana
Omamori - Sigils magic
Foxfire - Reserved power

Magic relating to the natural world and spirits. This power is better defined by the fact that it was built to flow through the god who created it, the Prince of Blossoms. This was quite a different arcane structure than most magical schools that would come later as those arcane powers relied upon the magic which was naturally present, instead Kamihana flowed through the god that founded it. In this way any mortal, whether they had an aptitude for magic or not, could practice it if the power was granted to them by their god, but this also came with a number of hinderances.

As all power flowed through the Prince of Blossoms, Kamihana grew far weaker when the god was not present. In his periods of dormancy, so too would this power be dormant. At times that the Prince of Blossoms was not present in a realm the power would quickly fade. These limitations were trade offs which allowed the Prince of Blossoms unrivaled control over this arcane power, allowing the magic to flow freely or be stymied based on the whim of the god.

Current Spells for Omamori:
Create Light
Conjure Wind
Conjure Water
Protection Sigils
Weed Repellent Sigil
Plant Growth Promotion

Foxfire Spells:
Unleashed Fire

Astral Magic
Origin: Aeon, Annastarria

This arcane power is related to the movements of the heavens and the stars. Affected by constellations and heavenly movements, this power waxes and wanes with the movements of the heavens. These changes can also be artificially created by rune patterns which mirror the stars or by celestial adornments.

Current Spells:
Astral Fire

Legacies of the World Tree

Night of the Hunt
Origin: Serek

Every Realm will have a Night of the Hunt. In some realms it may be once a year. In some it may be once a decade, but every realm would have it. On this night some danger would manifest itself and hunters would rise up to meet the challenge. Succeed or fail, the hunt would end at the first dawn. The shape it would take would differ from world to world, but it would always present a night of danger and turmoil which would require those to face it. The severity and frequency of these hunts would vary, but they would always come. What form that danger took would be tailored to the realm. Serek, as its originator, also had some ability to influence these hunts.

Legacy of Law and Justice
Origin: Prince of Blossoms

The Sakura Mandate
-Sacred Spaces in other realms were considered embassies of Irani
   -Subsection A: Violating these embassies is considered an atrocious Act, even to the world tree
-Sacred Spaces are a special rule that only applies to places dedicated to the Prince of Blossoms. (The unspoken part of this rule is that other gods cannot create Sacred Spaces for themselves)
-Violence and persecution is viewed as disrespectful and atrocious to other cultures
   -Subsection B: Unless this violence or persecution is authorized by the Prince of Blossoms
-All tea houses are considered sacred spaces
-It is considered disgraceful to allow the False God of Blossoms to enter such a space

Complication: The Prince of Blossoms had been given authority to create one law, but had created seven. This overreach of authority had warped legality all across the World Tree. Now legal systems of every realm will tend towards overreach and will be prone to following the letter of the law rather than the spirit.
This message was last edited by the GM at 20:02, Sat 13 Aug 2022.