Godbound, or How To Be a Badass Demigod

[Gilgameshian]

So, as the title implies, I'm looking to see if anyone is interested in running a Godbound game and who would be interested in playing in. Godbound is a pretty simple system, in my opinion, and I've DM'd a game or two of it but I've never had the chance to be a player because my RL buddies who play run D&D but not Godbound. It is what it is but that's why I'm here. Some fun Divine Hero shenanigans, erotica, and mayhem.

For those who don't know Godbound is free to download. A google search should find the PDF for you and it really doesn't take much time to learn. They keep the system simple because the real goal is to use your characters godly power to go absolutely nuts.

So yeah, this isn't the most in-depth thing in the world but I'm certainly looking and curious if anyone else out there is.

As an aside, if anyone cares, I'd be equally interested in playing using the setting of Exalted with a Godbound System because Exalted charms hurt my brain despite them being easier in 3e.

[Remiel]

I've no experience with this (and so obviously I wouldn't be running it), but it sounds interesting.

[HairyHeretic]

What's the system like? I've played, and run, both Exalted and Scion, but I'm not familiar with this one.

[Gilgameshian]

Godbound is a system based game. It's pretty rules light in my opinion compared to a lot of alternatives.

Here's the free version on google drive if you want it: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1YqPvhwsrD6n9rRUPqXfCzqURXLuD19VB/view?usp=sharing

I think it's pretty straightforward but let me know what you all think.

[Dreaming Space]

What's the system like? I've played, and run, both Exalted and Scion, but I'm not familiar with this one.

If you're familiar with any edition of D&D, you will pick it up very quickly. It's MOSTLY simple, but there are a few odd concepts. Fortunately you don't have to understand them immediately.

You have six stats which do more or less what you expect, an AC, three saves, and an attack bonus equal to your level. You pick three "facts" at the start and gain one more each level, which take the place of skills or merits or whatever you might have in other RPGs. Beautiful Courtesan or Mathematical Prodigy would both be facts, so might be Rich Merchant or...whatever.

The big distinction is that a PC has three Words, which are the basic building-blocks of reality that they're linked to. You pick them from a big list. Fire, Swords, Fate, Artifice, Birds, Cities...there's a lot of options.

Each Word gives you some kind of intrinsic ability (Might raises your Strength score to 19 automatically, for example) and a list of powers you can take. This is extremely easy compared to Exalted or whatever; there's almost never a pre-requisite and the powers mostly just do what they see. Each word and all of its gifts fit on a single page in almost all cases.

The game doesn't get complex until you start dealing with Dominion and Influence, which are how your character affects the world outside of using a gift, which generally has an immediate and localized effect. If, for example, your PC who is bound to the word of Night wants to bring eternal darkness over the world, she will need a vast amount of Dominion. Someone with Fertility, though, could bless a village with a relatively modest expenditure.

You have to spend Dominion to advance, which means you have to change the world in large and perceptible ways, which means that you will inevitably anger or threaten or inspire jealousy in the various other powers in the game world.

Anyway, it's a long way from free-form, but anyone who has ever played a game of D&D and feels up to picking three words and a handful of crazy powers to start should be fine. And some of the powers are pretty wild, although the game is relatively stingy with excessive amounts of combat ability.

Addendum: The hardest part of the game to wrap your head around is that damage works in a really odd way. It gets reflexive after a while but it's...strange.

Second Addendum: A lot of people compare it to Exalted. I think that's actually a misapprehension. However everyone else seems to disagree with me, so perhaps I am the one who is wrong. Certainly some of the powers are Exalted-esque, but they tend to be a lot more...direct, I guess? If you have the word of Artifice, being able to draw any man-portable item out of thin air and do the work of a thousand men in a day is like...one or two gifts. Being able to draw from nothing the material needed for large projects is one more. You don't even roll for it once you have that stuff. In Exalted 3 that would take a significant charm tree, I think, still involve rolls, and you'd be keeping track of Crafting XP. In Godbound you just...make a hundred swords, or whatever.

[Zaer Darkwail]

I voice interest to play Godbound system, more so in exalted setting (make simple rules that certain exalted types have some word for free/default taken to them; like dragon-bloods get their element based word for free and perhaps some minor unique power unrelated to any gifts/words).

[HairyHeretic]

I'd be willing to have a look over the rules. I wouldn't want to commit myself more than that til I'd seen what they're like, but I have started running an Exalted campaign recently, so that could maybe be ported in here.

[Zaer Darkwail]

What I read and understood the beauty of the system is simplicity and part creativity with some words uses (as some words has less defined elements/effects but it mentions sort limits and scales what it can do). Allowing also easily create custom words if there aren't any.

[Gilgameshian]

Space described it more succinctly than I ever could.

As for the Exalted comparison I think a lot of it comes from the fact that both are playing in a similar "use godly powers to reshape the world" vibe. Exalted is a lot more structured and specific about the hows, wheres, whys, and all that while Godbound just shortcuts to the "but you're doing the thing". Not that either system is bad but Godbound is the one that, I think, is the easier pill to swallow. Less difficult to wrap brains around the mechanics of Gifts and such than learning the Charm system and whatnot.

[Azuresun]

I am actually running a game of Exalted with the Godbound system at the moment. I'm not looking for new players right now, but it is linked in my sig if it helps give an idea of how it works in actual play. It's a really good match for the setting, and very PBP-friendly.

[Eobelle]

I would absolutely be interested in playing in a Godbound game.

[Gilgameshian]

Trust me, I'd still love to play but finding a GM seems to be a bit rough. But hey, I'll take the bump and see what comes of it!

[Sepulchritude]

So, I have no particular skill with designing plot, and not enough time free to force through it on determination alone. But I know the system inside-out. And I've kept up with the designer's commentary on another forum about things like mass combat and homebrewing tips, for several years. I could help with bringing new players up to speed and clarifying the inverted parts of the system, at least.

[AribethAmkiir]

I'd be interesting in playing if this gets off the ground

[Zaer Darkwail]

Voice out that I still got interested as well.

[CountessYlva]

Well...I've wanted to GM a Godbound game for a while now, so I'd be interested if people want? I haven't done any group games on this site, but I have quite a bit of experience on some others, so I am not going to freak out at the scale or power level involved.

[Gilgameshian]

Hey, if you want to lead then by all means I'm happy to lead the charge as a character (maybe not literally though I do love the Command word...)

[Alistair Leonhart]

Tentatively interested in this, though I assume there's plenty of potential players already. Exalted's setting is great and this system doesn't look like an absolute pain to learn, given a tutorial of sorts.

[AribethAmkiir]

I'm still interested.

[CountessYlva]

Okay, I put together a game ad over in that section. Here's the link.

[Sepulchritude]

I believe there are still a few people who spoke up here who haven't appeared in the recruitment thread yet.  So if that's you, now's your chance.