[Godbound] The Endless Dance of Empty Night

[CountessYlva]

Hello, first time posting a request on this site, but I am fairly experienced with running games on other sites. Apologies if I'm missing something obvious or failing to follow site etiquette.

This game is a system game, not freeform, using the Godbound ruleset. The base rules are available free on drivethrurpg; if you have the deluxe edition or the Lexicon of the Throne expansion, you can also use content from there, but they are not required to play. The basic premise of the system is that the PCs are demigods who inherited the power of the broken machines of Heaven, empowering them with vast (but very narrow) control over the fundamental forces of Creation. I am told it is quite similar in some ways to Exalted and Scion; I've not played them, so I don't know personally. The system is fairly simple and straightforward, and does rely quite a bit on GM ruling; I will try to always be transparent and open about these, and they are always open to discussion. We will be using the Arcem setting from the book, but don't worry if you aren't familiar with it - neither are your characters. I will be taking four to six players, and it will not be first come first served, but rather based on creating a group that meshes well together. If that interests you, here's the game information.

Content:

This will be an adult game and will contain some explicit sexual content. However, it is still a story-driven game. There is an actual plot, and the focus will be on characters, story, and how your characters impact the world. I'm not going to try to come up with a percentile division, because it depends very heavily on how the players choose to engage with the world and other characters. Your character should be mechanically functional and have a personality, not be only a vessel for fetishes. Please be aware that there will be demihuman and nonhuman characters. I am open to nonconsensual sexual scenes, dubious consent situations, and situations where consent is given under duress, in fiction, and these things may show up in this game; in fact, the nature of the system is that these things are all but inevitable for some Words. Multiple Words from Lexicon, in particular, are inherently consent violations in ways that cannot be removed from them without removing the Words entirely. As such, this game will be placed in Non-Consensual Exotic, and all players must be comfortable with this content. Also, like all other player vs. player content, these things are allowed between player characters only if the conflict is purely IC and both players are completely and explicitly on board with it out of character.

Allowed Players and Characters:

I will not be discriminating between players based on gender. Player characters may be male, female, or nonbinary. I am open to all pairings (and more-than-pairings) in terms of sexual scenes, and will tailor it based on group preferences.

The Plot:

You remember dying. You remember the feeling as life ebbed, as consciousness faded. You remember the darkness that swallowed you, and a feeling of falling through it in directions you could not conceptualize, dimensions beyond the three-and-one you knew.

But then...you awoke. Lying on a frigid shore in a strange world, surrounded by a handful of people who had the same experience, and filled with power like nothing you had ever dreamed of holding before. The world bends to your will...but there are dangers even to you, and your resurrection is a mystery to you, one that you know you need to find the answer to.

Character Creation:

Your character is, as described above, someone from another world who awoke on the shore of Arcem after dying in their own world. You do not remember the other PCs and may not be from the same world as they were. The world your character was from is like our own, but not necessarily exactly - possible differences include alternate details of history, the existence of supernatural powers, cultural differences, and similar. Your character's body may have changed in some way since their previous life - sex, size, shape, et cetera. Your character may have demi-human qualities, making them appear not-quite-human; this can have happened after death, or your character's world might include this as a normal thing. It is not uncommon in Arcem and will not be treated as such by NPCs.

You do not need a full and complete character sheet in order to be considered. However, you do need the following: the Words you will be selecting, the Facts of your character, and a name, personality summary, and physical description. You do not need to provide visual art for reference. I do need to know if and how your character's home world differed substantially from the real world, and how they died.

A word on Facts, because this can be a bit complicated with this origin. The Fact that covers how your character is related to an organization does not mean that they have a relation to an organization in Arcem. You can do one of two things with it. The first is simply treat it as an unspecified Fact and put down any other thing that's important about your character. The second is to describe how your character was connected to an organization in a way that shaped them or taught them a skill that is useful. Examples include things like: "She is heavily embedded in an underground counterculture and knows how to interact with others who are as well," "He was part of numerous athletic teams," or "They learned organizational skills managing nonprofits." None of these ties them to Arcem, but all of them shaped the character and taught them skills that will be useful in their new life.

Let me know if you have any questions or if I have made an error of some kind.

[AndyZ]

Keeping an eye on this.

[kongming]

I'm keen to play this - I have played Godbound (once) before, and am currently running a couple of 1 on 1 games of it on the Disco Accordion thing, so I have enough experience with it to be comfortable, and I like the general ideas it has.

I don't have a full character concept yet, just a basic idea:
-Personality: previously shy, quiet and unassuming, she suddenly awakens with a new energy and new power, and doesn't want to waste it for even a moment. She is now energetic and determined to be the change she seeks in the world, someone reaching down to help others. She was always helpful, and kind, and good natured, but now she has the confidence to actually show this when people are looking, to display friendliness. It might seem like a more youthful energy, but still filtered through the understanding and experiences of an adult
-Physical Description: there hasn't been too much of a change from her previous life. She looks to be a human lady from somewhere in the region of India, in her thirties but rejuvenated with a new energy that leaves her free of the hardships of ageing - so her hair is still a full, shiny black, her skin shows no wrinkles... and indeed, from this new power, her skin seems almost to glow with warmth and radiance.
-World/Death: previously, this character had lived a quiet life helping other "more important" people succeed - starting as a personal assistant and secretary, then going on to do work in communications, PR and social media coordination. Her work helped others, and she knew she was helping good causes, and that's all that really mattered. She was just starting out a new direction in wildlife conservation when her train went off the rails. She certainly wasn't the only one to die as multiple carriages tumbled down a hill, but there was no question that she absolutely did die there. It wasn't even auspicious or inauspicious, it didn't serve as some warning against imprudence, it wasn't a sacrifice for a greater good... it was pointless. And yet, maybe it can actually allow her to do so much more...
-Words: Sun for sure, and the others I'm not so set on - I'm happy to wait until others make their choices, so there isn't any overlap there.
-Facts: I'll put some thought into these too. But does what I have so far seem workable, and the kind of thing you had in mind?

[CountessYlva]

That all looks good kongming.

[PixelatedPixie]

I am potentially interested but need to glance through the rules a bit more before I can come up with a character.

[Silim]

Downloading the free rules right now, I'll have something up for this soon. Very intrigued by playing a system like this. I've got a few ideas already, but I gotta read up how the Words and such work.


Edit: Alright, got some reading done.

Name: Jonathan Crowley
Words: Death, Luck, Sorcery
Facts: 1. Born to a wealthy and powerful family, 2. Student of philosophy and psychology, 3. Member of the resistance against the ruling archmages of his world.
World: Similar to our own in history, but with a type of inborn magic existing in a few families. Unlike our world, this has lead to a continued existence of a clear ruling class, with democracy of any kind being almost unheard of.
Death: Run over by a truck at age 27
Personality: Easy-going, but with a surprisingly sharp tongue and wit at times. Jonathan doesn't let his origins show if he can help it, and is as helpful and kind as he can be to everyone he meets, and tried to be like that even before his death. With his newfound powers that dwarf any magic he was used to, he fully plans to make sure nobody else abuses strength like that, trusting himself not to abuse his own powers once he gets the hang of them. He can usually be expected to be a voice of reason and calm. He dislikes open conflict, but when the time calls for it and he cannot avoid it, he tries to avoid inflicting any sort of suffering.
Appearance: Caucasian, with incredibly pale - almost sickly so - skin, long blond hair, and light green eyes. His hair is quite wild and usually only barely contained in a ponytail, and stands in stark contrast to his usual demeanor and outfit being very well tailored and fitting. Since arriving in the new world, he's actually become taller - standing at 1.9 meters now - along with his ears being slightly pointy now. His canine teeth are also a bit sharper than before the strange reincarnation. On arrival, his exact clothes are a well-fitting red shirt, black mantle over it, and black denim pants with dress shoes.

[kongming]

Okay, here we go. I think the character is ready (all pictures are screenshots taken of an 18yo character from "The Headmaster", a visual novel), but I've left some space for changing a couple of the Words (and then some Gifts) if other people want the Command and Health Words.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1yLQNh4F3z-dJCeIj3qh6fsQQKyfHATkVcmaB4q56J5o/edit?usp=sharing

[Empyrean]

I'm interested. I'll need to read through the rules and the Lexicon but I have a tentative idea.

[GunmetalDreamer]

Got a little excited myself until I realized there was some thread necromancy going on.

[Empyrean]

Oh you're right. *sigh* How disappointing. :(

[TheSithChicken]

Shit! Damn thread necromancy. I was super excited to get to play Godbound instead of just running it.

[Zeth]

Shit! Damn thread necromancy. I was super excited to get to play Godbound instead of just running it.

Same here TheSithChicken. My joy has turned to sorrow.