Gods and Monsters: A Deity Game [Recruiting]

[MiddayMoon]

In the beginning was everything. A boiling, heaving mass of all that could be. All-encompassing as it was, the everything contained a mind, and that mind contained thoughts. It beheld part of everything and thought “that part is the land,” and it was so. It considered a different part of infinite possibility and thought “that is an ocean; that, a sky,” and they were so. In this way the mind piece by piece comprehended and codified the chaos into the world of forms—it was still everything, just more ordered than it had been before.

And when the world was ordered the mind turned its attention on itself and shattered into a thousand thousand pieces.

You are one of those myriad pieces. You are a god, and this is your world. It is fresh and new; untamed wildernesses, soaring peaks, wild oceans, the first budding human civilizations.

They are yours to shape. What will you make of them? What will other gods make of you?



This is Gods and Monsters, a GM-led game of deities. In this game the players will take the role of a pantheon of gods, shaping the fabric of the world, telling its stories and conflicts, and creating their own grand mythologies. Players can expect to get involved in the world through both their own machinations, and be given problems to solve that will shape the very fabric of the world around them. Think of the mythic tales of the Greek and Norse gods, that's what this game will try and emulate.

The game will be played by post, with a OOC/planning server on Discord. The game will be using the FATE Accelerated ruleset (available as pay-what-you want or in free SRD form online. See me if you have trouble searching for it). Those who've never played/used FAE before are more than welcome to join, and I will teach the system as we play.




The Forest Primeval
The forest primeval is a place of massive, ancient trees and a shrouding canopy that lets little light through. The gloom beneath the leaves throngs with life— everywhere there is birdsong and rustling in the thick undergrowth—but only the bravest or most desperate hunters dare to ply their trade any deeper than the fringes of the wood; the animals of the forest are quick, cunning, and more than happy to supplement their diet with human flesh.

The Rugged Peaks
The rugged peaks are mountains from the dawn of time—pure expressions of the earth’s might, heaved up to unthinkable heights to make a forbidding landscape of stone cliff faces, chasms, and steep slopes. The few people who live among them are a hardy lot, used to dealing with the unforgiving environment on a daily basis.

The Ocean
The ocean is a trackless, bottomless wilderness where ship and sailors remain at the mercy of the elements. Sea monsters the size of villages—of towns!—lurk in the impossible depths, and ships roll in the waves like ants drowning in a glass of water. But the bold and the insane continue to chase rumors of islands wondrous and enchanted out in the waters, where those brave and skillful may find wealth, power, sorcery, or whatever else haunts their dreams.

The Trackless Desert
The desert is the archetypal harsh environment, with its scorching heat, freezing cold, scarce food, and scarcer water. What life persists there is hostile and dangerous; yet life does persist there, including humanity, searching for something—wealth, enlightenment, or just the next meal—amid the baking temperatures and choking dust.

The Sweeping Plains
They go by many names—steppe, taiga, veldt, savannah—and vary slightly in the details, but the defining feature of the plains is that they are open. The grasslands seem to stretch forever beneath a colossal sky, broken here and there by trees or other plants, and it is home to thundering herds of wild horses, cattle, and other creatures. Humanity thrives here too, building settlements from mud bricks or stone blocks hewn from the earth, farming the fertile soil and taming the local fauna.

The First City
In the fork where two rivers join to make a third, there sits the grandest achievement of human civilization: the first city, where for the first time a select class of people can rise above the everyday struggle to survive and style themselves as rulers. Wealth flows here, driven by trade, and pools in the hands of those who seize it. Following the wealth come the bright-eyed seekers from the outlying villages, swelling the city’s population and squabbling over what resources they can claim. The first city could become the template for a great civilization or a disastrous footnote in history—you’ll find out which in the tales you tell.




A character is made up of a few simple things:

• Aspects:


• A High Concept: The high concept should reflect the god’s self-image—are you a Thunder Goddess, a Thing of the Wild Places, or One Who Dances at the End of Time?
  
• A Trouble: It could be something as human as a Weakness for Alcohol, something slightly supernatural like being Subject to Summoning, or the sort of thing that ties directly into the nature of godly existence like being a Power Sink or having No Fine Control or an Unstable Form. Whatever it is, make sure it can come back again and again to make your life difficult.
  
• Three Additional Aspects: What are three interesting things about your character? Are you an Infamous Braggart? A Coward at Heart? Are you the Lover of the God of Fire? Do you have Passionate Hatred For Your Sister? These can be good or bad, but ideally they are both. They can be used both in your favor, or against you!
  
• Approaches


• Choose:


• One Good (+3) approach
• Two Fair (+2) approaches
• Two Average (+2) approaches
• The game will use the following approaches:


• Bold covers the doing of deeds with great fanfare, and generally making yourself the center of attention.
• Subtle is the opposite partner to Bold; it encompasses hiding, sneaking, subtle manipulation, and otherwise getting what you want by remaining unnoticed.
• Clever is the approach of quick thinking, fast talking, and improvisation.
• Mighty is the brute force approach, and the opposite of Clever. Whether you’re lifting, pulling, throwing, or smashing, Mighty is the approach to use.
• Wise is action that relies on planning, preparedness, and knowledge of the world.
• Swift is the opposed partner of Wise, and deals with physical speed and precision.
• Stunts
  
  
  
  • Stunts are special abilities and cool things that your character can do. You start with 3 free stunts.
    For now we will not codify these mechanically, just choose 3 things you think would be cool/thematic for your deity to do and I will help you turn them into mechanics later!
  
  Examples:
  
  
  
  • I can see the threads of destiny, and other people/gods fate.
  • I invented Archery and my arrows never miss.
  • My blood is lava, and when I'm injured it erupts and harms my enemies.
  • I have incredible strength, and could lift a mountain if I wanted to.

Name:
High Concept:
Trouble:
Additional Aspects:
Sexuality:
APPROACHES

• Bold:
• Subtle:
• Clever:
• Mighty:
• Wise:
• Swift:

STUNTS

• Description
• Description
• Description

Stress: [ ][ ][ ]




To apply for the game please post a character sheet in this thread (an interest post if fine while you work on one!).

Once players are selected I will start a thread and send PMs with discord information. If you have any questions, feel free to ask!

[/list]

[ZincStandard]

Potentially interested! My main idea at the moment is the god of dogs (and by extension loyalty, cooperation, and oaths). Can I ask, what level of sexual content is planned for this game, if any?

[Xurtan]

This is shockingly tempting. I've done various god games over the years on other sites, and a couple here, and they're always enjoyable. I'd probably look at doing some sort of 'creator of the dark elves, god of magic and secrets' sort of thing. Hm. I'll definitely think about it.

[Levi]

Very interested.

[Zaval]

A tentative hat in the ring from me. :)

[RedPhoenix]

Very tempting.

How necessary will discord be?

[Empyrean]

This looks interesting. :)

[MiddayMoon]

Very tempting.

How necessary will discord be?

Not strictly necessary, but much preferred. It'll make it easier to keep track of the OOC flow and make sure nothing gets too bogged down. 

[Empyrean]

Name: Mirienne
High Concept: The Empress of Passion. First Seductress. Queen of the Revel. Mother of Succubi and Incubi. Goddess of Love, Lust, Sex, Beauty, and Fertility
Trouble: A love of overindulgence in whatever she does.
Additional Aspects: Motherly towards her followers. Has a love of luxury and spreading the wealth. Impish sense of humor coupled with inability to recognize when she's gone too far.
Sexuality: Bisexual
APPROACHES

    Bold: Good (Her favored approach)
    Subtle: Fair
    Clever: Average
    Mighty:
    Wise: Average
    Swift: Fair (She invented dance after all)

STUNTS

    I invented the arts of dance and seduction
    I enchant with my incredible beauty!
    I created the Incubi and Succubi, to spread joy and relaxation among mortals and gods.

Stress: [ ][ ][ ]

As she appears to her followers most often, though she is a shapeshifter.

[Ryu Wojin]

How much can we use anime esque pictures?

How often do you expect players to be posting? Or active?

Then about this setting. Is this going to be greek esque levels of godhood, where deities squabble and their physical squabbles involves mortals just because of their sheer power. Or is this more like a "black and white" game kinda setup where its more about keeping back and watching and the only influence we have is by having our followers act in our stead?

Which also makes me curious as to the relationship we have with mortals.

Is that up for us to decide? If so, what's the norm for most other deities?

Do deities walk among mortals and can live next door and intermingle like in Exalted setting, or is it like greek mythology where its rare and deities kinda hang out in their own realms/world/Olympus? Or is it like Scion where its like a modern day setting where only knowledgable mortals look more than our current religion and know that the gods exist and have children who walk among us but stay (mostly) hidden?

[Metro Mech]

I am very interested so I will throw my internet into the ring

[Hobbes1266]

Name: Quinn
High Concept: The grave lady, The end of all, The guide of the fallen, Servant of spirits, Goddess of death and the afterlife
Trouble: Her chilled touch temporarily drains days or months at a time off of the life of those she touches, she is weary of touching the living especially those who are near their end
Additional Aspects: Dutiful and dedicated to her work, Weary from her duties both physically and emotionally, Cares deeply for the countless under her care
Sexuality: Bisexual
APPROACHES

• Bold: Mediocre
• Subtle: Fair
• Clever: Average
• Mighty: Average
• Wise: Good
• Swift: Fair

STUNTS

• I can extinguish life with a sustained touch
• I know when and where anything is at the moment they die
• I am the ferry for the dead, I bring them to their afterlife whether it be my own or another

Stress: [ ][ ][ ]

Spoiler: Click to Show/Hide

Her touch is meant to drain time off of the lives of those she touches, draining more the longer she touches them, but it would heal over time if it doesn't bring them too close to dying. For a mortal it would be harmful or fatal depending on how close they are to death and how long they're touched, but for a god who is theoretically immortal the amount of their lifetime that would be drained would likely be insignificant enough to likely be ignored.

I intend for her to create or to have created a default afterlife as her domain, but if different gods create their own forms of afterlife she would bring the dead to the appropriate afterlife, defaulting to hers if no other afterlife is appropriate.

If anyone wishes to create a god of life I would be happy to discuss connections between the two, or any other god for that matter.

All pending approval and willing to make changes to the character if necessary

[Levi]

Name: Vaneas
High Concept: Goddess of the golden flame, Lady of the hearth, Cause of the exploding Volcano. Reveler in the passions of the heart.
Trouble:Quick to anger, her temper rises fast as a flame. However like a flame it can be doused with the right things. Where water flows a flame dare not grow.
Additional Aspects: Extreamly passionate and curious. Any thing that involves fire draws her attention this even includes love that burns quick and hot.
Sexuality:Straight
APPROACHES
Bold: Good
Subtle: Average
Clever: Average
Mighty: Fair
Wise:
Swift: Fair
STUNTS
My passion is a blistering heat that can leave you desiring more or forever burned
I am the first to a party and the last to leave
[ ][ ][ ]

[MiddayMoon]

Hi friends, sorry for the late reply. I'm going to leave to leave this up until Monday, and then possibly kick things off if there's enough interest. Some comments:

How much can we use anime esque pictures?

How often do you expect players to be posting? Or active?

Then about this setting. Is this going to be greek esque levels of godhood, where deities squabble and their physical squabbles involves mortals just because of their sheer power. Or is this more like a "black and white" game kinda setup where its more about keeping back and watching and the only influence we have is by having our followers act in our stead?

Which also makes me curious as to the relationship we have with mortals.

Is that up for us to decide? If so, what's the norm for most other deities?

Do deities walk among mortals and can live next door and intermingle like in Exalted setting, or is it like greek mythology where its rare and deities kinda hang out in their own realms/world/Olympus? Or is it like Scion where its like a modern day setting where only knowledgable mortals look more than our current religion and know that the gods exist and have children who walk among us but stay (mostly) hidden?

Answers:
- Would prefer real life claims or semi-realistic art to anime.
- Hopefully one post a day in terms of activity.
- This is more a greek/norse sort of setup, gods will directly interact with the world, squabble, talk to humans, etc.
- Relationships with mortals is is up to gods to decide. Most have their own small communities/cults of followers that attend to them.
- Deities walk among mortals and can intermingle. They dwell on earth and can hang out in their temples, palaces, etc.

Name: Vaneas

This looks good. A few stunts would be nice, but we can work those out if you can't think of anything off the top of your head.

Name: Quinn

Looks great! Everything seems to be here, stunts are good as well.

Name: Mirienne

And also good, just to make sure I got everyone.

Thanks for the submissions so far!

[TheGlyphstone]

FAE is fun, so I'll poke tentative interest at this. No idea what slot in a pantheon I'd want to occupy though.

[Levi]

Yeah I will add those soon as I can. Admitting now that I am new to this kind of idea and am attempting to read the link you provided :)

[Empyrean]

I've never played FAE before, but the character sheet seemed simple enough. :) I'll hunt up a picture for Mirienne. :)

[Levi]

Would this be suitable for an image?

[TheGlyphstone]

Name: Satirev
High Concept: Keeper of Secrets, Lord of Greed, Patron of Thieves, Spies, and Misers
Trouble: I Am At My Weakest In A Fair Fight
Additional Aspects:
Sexuality: Straight
APPROACHES

• Bold: Average (+1)
• Subtle: Good (+3)
• Clever: Fair (+2)
• Mighty:  Mediocre (+0)
• Wise: Fair (+2)
• Swift: Average (+1)

STUNTS

• I know everything that someone seeks to hide
• No one can take what's mine away from me
• I can hide what I wish from the sight of others

Stress: [ ][ ][ ]


Allies:

• The Goddess of Lust, for many secrets are shared across the pillow, and no bond is more fiercely clung to than love

Enemies:

• The Goddess of the Hunt, for hunters and seekers are dangerous to the hidden and forgotten

[Empyrean]

I added a couple of pics for Mirienne. The faceclaim is cosplayer/model Adriana Alencar.

Hobbes: As Goddess of Fertility, Mirienne would probably be responsible for ensuring that the species continue and reproduce. I don't see a reason why she would be hostile to Quinn. Life and death in balance would make sense to her. I don't see Mirienne as being initially hostile to anyone so far. Maybe we can plan something if you'd like?

Glyphstone: Sounds good to me. Lust and Greed would probably make good allies. :)

[Amaraine]

Name: Laer / Laera
High Concept: God/dess of the Hunt
Trouble: Has difficulty resisting a challenge
Additional Aspects: Can take the form of either gender
Sexuality: Bisexual
APPROACHES
Bold: Average + 1
Subtle: Fair + 2
Clever: Good + 3
Mighty: Average + 1
Wise:
Swift: Fair + 2
STUNTS
My arrows always fly straight and true
I blend in with my surroundings easily, and am hard to notice
I can track even that which leaves no trace
Stress: [ ][ ][ ]

[Empyrean]

If it helps matters any, I see Mirienne as a goddess of fertility both in the sense of sexual fertility (overseeing the production and safeguarding of children and families) as well as more material fertility (crops and domesticated animals, not overlapping with the wild animals that would be the purview of Laer/Laera as Deity of the Hunt).

[Hobbes1266]

Theglyphstone: I don't think Quinn would be very likely to willingly ally with someone who would steal from her wards, especially something as important as their secrets. Death does not give up what it takes.

Empyrean: I expect Mirienne and Quinn will have polar opposite personalities, all work no play and all play no work respectively, but despite that I could definitely see them getting along. Quinn cares for the dead, that doesn't mean she dislikes the living. There are definitely plans we could make for the two goddesses.

[Empyrean]

Sure, sounds good to me. :) Mirienne might make it her business to try and cheer up and loosen up Quinn whenever they interact.

[TheGlyphstone]

Theglyphstone: I don't think Quinn would be very likely to willingly ally with someone who would steal from her wards, especially something as important as their secrets. Death does not give up what it takes.

Empyrean: I expect Mirienne and Quinn will have polar opposite personalities, all work no play and all play no work respectively, but despite that I could definitely see them getting along. Quinn cares for the dead, that doesn't mean she dislikes the living. There are definitely plans we could make for the two goddesses.

I had looked at it as overlapping portfolios - being the keeper of the dead also makes Quinn a secret-keeper of sorts, and protective of her possessions. If you think it'd be more interesting to have them as opponents/enemies, where trying to steal secrets from the dead is something Satirev or his worshippers do sometimes, it's easily workable.