Creation: The Godhood Game (OOC)

[Bookkeeper]

So, you want to be God? Maybe not The God, but a God, at least. Or maybe you do want to be The God, but that’ll have to wait, because you’ve got company. An entire pantheon in fact, seeking just like you to shape this world into what it should be. Where do you start? First things first, it’s important to figure out just what kind of God you are. So who are you?

Each God has certain Domains that they have regency over, which they can exert the greatest control over. For example, Poseidon was the God of the Ocean, or Thor, the God of Thunder. As a Local God, each God can have between one and three Domains to their name, but this can increase over time.

Gods can affect the world outside their Domain, but these effects will be extremely limited. Additionally, the more specific a Domain is, the greater a God can influence it. For example, a God of Lakes or Rivers would have much more sway over their chosen fields than a God of the Ocean over his. Even then, the precision of action of an Ocean God would dwarf that of a God of Water. Generally, you can think of it like this: if a Rain God and the God of All Waters clash over something rain-related, the Rain God is going to win. At the same time, a God of a Single Drop of Water is going to have a hard time influencing the world at all, so it’s important to find an appropriate middle ground between universality and specificity (some examples will be provided below).

A God also belongs to one of eleven Spheres, general groupings that categorize the Gods. The nature of the Domains should logically point to the appropriate Sphere, though a God can only have one Sphere, so there may be some compromise. A summary of the eleven Spheres of Design follow:

THE SPHERE OF CREATION
Drawing from the life-endowing force of the Sun, the Sphere of Creation is devoted to new life and rebirth. A subtle house, Gods of Creation will find the greatest long-term return for their influence over the planet.
Examples: Light, Healing, Procreation, Heroism, Hope

THE SPHERE OF FATE
Pushing luck and lives where they’re supposed to go, the Sphere of Fate influences the chaos theory of the world. Having some sway over their own fate, Gods of Fate often find elements of chance tilted in their favor.
Examples: Gates, Pathways, Wealth, Gambling, Winds

THE SPHERE OF PASSIONS
Rooted in mortal instinct, the Sphere of Passions explores the emotional spectrum of sentience, through moderation and extremity. Habitually empathetic, the Passion Gods have an easy time connecting with other Gods.
Examples: Mercy, Courage, Fear, Vengeance, Lust

THE SPHERE OF LIFE
Inspiring and always inspired by nature, the Sphere of Life has sway over the organic beings of the world. More down to earth than many of their counterparts, the Gods of Life are often more aware of the ways of their worshippers.
Examples: Felines, Avians, Reptiles, Insects, Flowers

THE SPHERE OF DISCORD
With destruction as its calling, the Sphere of Discord is devoted to the natural violence of reality. With an inclination towards conflict, the Gods of Discord find themselves especially ready for confrontations with the other Gods.
Examples: Lightning, Hunting, Contest, Earthquakes, Epidemics

THE SPHERE OF CONSTANTS
Devoted to order and the pursuit of a universal truth, the Sphere of Constants is based around these principles. Stalwart in their faith, the Constant Gods inspire great loyalty in their subjects.
Examples: Leaders, Marriage, Mountains, Promises, Guardianship

THE SPHERE OF PERSUASION
Chasing a more subjective truth, the Sphere of Persuasion reigns over all that makes the world a more amusing place. Charismatic to a fault, the Gods of Persuasion find themselves near universally beloved.
Examples: Magic, Poetry, Music, Wine, Beauty

THE SPHERE OF KNOWLEDGE
With a knack for knowing, the Sphere of Knowledge is based around the sciences of civilization. Intuitively insightful, the Gods of Knowledge will often share their wisdoms in the spirit of cooperation.
Examples: Cities, Agriculture, Blacksmiths, Archery, Deceit

THE SPHERE OF WATERS
Ubiquitous across the planet, the Sphere of Waters touches not only the hydration, but also the weather patterns of the world. Due to the omnipresence of their element, Water Gods rarely find themselves wanting for power.
Examples: Rain, Rivers, Mist, Storms, Snow

THE SPHERE OF THE UNKNOWN
Founded from the netherworld, the Sphere of the Unknown reigns over death and the other mysteries of life. Quietly somber, the Unknown Gods have a deep connection with the afterlife.
Examples: Darkness, the Dead, Sleep, Dreams, Memories

THE SPHERE OF TIME
Drawing from the cycles of the moon, the Sphere of Time forever marks the passage of past to future. Sentient forevers, the Gods of Time are never forgotten, the always factor of an endlessly changing world.
Examples: Dawn, Calendars, Seasons, Night, Paradox

The Spheres have differing powers that will effect their Gods, as will be revealed over the game. For now, you should pick the Sphere that closest corresponds to the Domains and personality you want to play. Some Domains do not correspond clearly with a specific Sphere: Fire, for example, could belong to Creation for its life-giving qualities, or Discord for the opposite. These circumstances are left to the player’s discretion.

More important than Domain or Sphere will be the God’s creativity in deliverance. For example, a God of Calendars may seem insignificant, but he ultimately reigns over all human conception of time. At a whim, a powerful Calendar God could cast aside all distinction in time for humans, collapsing society as they know it—though a Local God who attempted this stunt would likely only cause a nuisance for record keepers and the annals of history. Creativity is key, and remember that you can affect the world outside of your Domains, but the further your desires travel from this jurisdiction, the less sway you’ll have.

Later in the game, Gods will be able to select additional Domains, enabling supplemental Spheres—we’ll cover that in more detail when we get to it. In the meantime, you’ve got the rest of your God to construct. Your finished character profile should be formatted like this:

Name: Followed by a title, if you’d like.
Sphere:
Domains: Followed by a short description of what generally these Domains covers.
Personality: A quick blurb will do… give us your archetypal characteristics and their invocations or subversions.
Worship: This is where it gets really fun. Go all out telling us your God’s preferred method of worship—where should it take place? Are there specific days that should be observed—solstices or equinoxes, seasonal markers, phases of the moon, or every other Thursday? What rituals are your worshippers supposed to undertake—are there sacrifices? What’s encouraged or forbidden among them? And how do you punish them if they fail…? This is mostly for flavor, but details like these can influence the Bookkeeper’s chronicles as well.
Relevant Symbols: Again, this is mostly just flavor, but creativity will always be rewarded in this game.

Once you’ve got all that done, your God is almost finished… all you need now is the Trump. Your Trump is an object that ties your God to the mortal world, and can range from something as majestic as a throne of marble and platinum to something as inconspicuous as a tattered rag. It’s important you keep your Trump a secret—the information should not be published with your profile, and should instead be sent to me directly. After all, if the other Gods were to discover your link to the earth, they could perhaps take advantage of you. It’s also important you remember the details of your own Trump, as such little things have a way of slipping a God’s mind. But that would never happen to you, would it…?

Completed God profiles should be posted here, and once I've approved them, you'll be introduced to the game upon the start of the next round. Ready to take the world in your hands?

Before you start playing though, make sure to review the full rules of gameplay here: http://roleplayerguild.com/member.php?39688-Bookkeeper (click the "About Me" tab)

IC Thread: http://roleplayerguild.com/showthrea...91#post8223991

[Rtron]

Finally hunted this down! NOW TO READ LE WALL OF TEXT.

[Rune Alchemist]

Thanks for the link Rtron. Now to that good old wall of text.

[Rtron]

Name:Granzil

Sphere: Discord

Domains: Chaos: There is no change without some form of Chaos. There is not hardship, no miracles, nothing is different, everything is orderly. Granzil just helps move this along, using his chaos for either a force of 'good' or a force of 'evil' depending on your point of view.

Violence: Tying directly into his chaos and Discord, Granzil is the champion of Violence. Whether it be in the name of justice or greed, Revenge or Mercy, those who do violence are immediately in Granzil's domain for a temporary period. Granzil also can push people towards violence, though if they are pacifists or have nothing to be violent at or angry at, it's naturally harder for Granzil to exert his will of violence on them.

Fire: Fire is what Granzil views as the perfect form of chaos. Never the same, could change from a warming blaze to a lethal inferno in seconds. Used by the sentient creatures, yet they are wary of it. Granzil is naturally leaning towards the more combative uses of Fire, but He can still do the regular helpful stuff.

Personality:Granzil is like his domain. Chaotic. He can be calm one minute, murderously insane the next. But no matter what his current emotion is, he's cunning, cold, and merciless. He could be raging like an extreme *insert video game known for it's annoying fanboys here* fanboy when the game gets dissed but he'll always be whirling away with plans upon plans to act upon his current line of thought. Amazingly, he also can stay on one objective with the tenacity of a Blood hound on a scent.

Worship: Worshiping Granzil on a day to day basis is a very simple process. Just cause some form of chaos or violence. Be it through stealing, murdering, or persuading people to do things that will disrupt the day to day order. However, if you want to worship him to gain blessings and powers, etc. You need to do a sacrifice. Not just any old sacrifice either. You need to find something that's important to someone. Something that, no matter how bad it gets, that thing will still be there to comfort and bring order to their lives. Then, you steal it, and sacrifice it in Granzil's name.

Relevant Symbols: The most relevant symbol, the symbol that identifies the followers of Granzil is a symbol, burned into their upper arms, and hung in all of Granzils buildings.

[Imperfectionist]

Name: Ratra, Dreamking, Lord of That Which is Not

Sphere: The Unknown

Domains:
1. Dreams; the Dreamking writes the dreams, forms them out of the deep, primordial thought-stuff of living consciousness, and brings them into the minds of humans and animals alike. There is, of course, a huge variety in dreams, and Ratra has created many servants to represent and have some small amount of control over specific nightmares, dream-places, and creatures of the Dreaming. This allows him to focus his efforts on new dreams, and the specifics of placing dreams into minds.

2. Restless Sleep (R.E.M. sleep); while dreaming, there is no rest that can be given to a person’s body or soul. Instead, they are given insight from the realm of Dream. Ratra may induce this sleep in any sleeping being at will (unless it is powerfully contested by a different Sleep god), in order to grant dreams.

3. Oracular Trances; Ratra is an “operator” of sorts for godly prophecy (speaking to mortals), and all gods who wish to send worshipers into a trance and speak their words must get him to "patch them through", as a trance is merely a type of waking dream. Gods can sometimes speak directly to their worshippers, of course, but for when they can’t, Ratra is always available.

Personality: Ratra is an old artist, and is proud of his work. He sees himself as a fundamental piece of the order of the Universe, and thus is generally on good terms with the other gods. If he is slighted, however, his work insulted, or his domains usurped, a previously hidden vengeful spirit will emerge, powerfully lashing out against whoever has done the thing, and to the best of his ability, making their nights AND days unpleasant in the extreme.

Worship: Worship is… different for Ratra. He has no temples, no priests, and his worshipers are simply all that tell stories, that write and create and live for such creation. He is known as the patron of the artists, especially of the deep art that comes out of the soul of humankind. Thus, musical writings, works of ingenuity, stories, and other non-scientific human creation often includes a prayer of thanks to Ratra. If the idea for the work came explicitly in a dream, an artist may ground a special root into powder and mix it with water, creating a draught that, when consumed, causes a trance, and allows the artist to basically thank Ratra in person. Plagiarism, or any person who steals the creations of others to pass off as his/her own, is an insult to Ratra, and is dealt with accordingly.
Because of this aspect of his existence, Ratra has a loving relationship with the other truly artistic gods, especially those of the Sphere of Persuasion and the Sphere of Life.

Relevant Symbols: That of a vertical, bright third eye in the exact center of his forehead, representing his and his follower’s insight into the minds and souls of humanity. When he appears to people, animals and gods alike, no matter the form, he retains this eye.


I know, I know, now I'M the plagiarizer, but I intend for Ratra to not be the same character as Dream of the Endless (from Gaiman's Sandman comic), being much less powerful overall. He's just an inspiration, as I've been reading the comic a lot recently, and it's on my mind. Also, let me know if he seems too powerful for the beginning of the game.

Edit: Removed prophecy from his domains, as that would be under the sphere of Time, of which he is not yet a part. If he achieves entry into that sphere, I'll probably put it back.

[The Whacko]

Name: Manimarco, Lord of the Dead, Patron of Necromancy
Sphere: The Unknown
Domains:
1. Death: Death is the one inevitability in the lives of mortals, and Manimarco knows this. In his love for the mortals, he takes apon the burden of the souls of the dead, watching over them and ensuring that they rest in peace, no matter their actions in life.

2. Necromancy: As the dead will always outnumber the living, some mages hold a long tradition of using these readily available specimens as their servants. These necromancers look to Manimarco for guidance, and since the first undead rose in the black of night, he has set strict limits apon them. By his decree, a soul may not be summoned against its will, and the undead could never be used for war, save in defense against evil (such as combating follows of Granzil). Use of the souless bodies or skeletons as labor is permited, but abuse of them is not tolerated.

Personality: Like death itself, Manimarco at first seems cold, calculated and distant. Past this frosty exterior, however, is a diety that genuinely loves the mortals of the world, and will do what he must to protect them and the souls of the dead under his care. This naturaly puts him on good terms with the more benevolent gods, but this often puts him into confrontation with others such as Granzil.

Worship: Worship of Manimarco is a simple matter. On the first and last day of the week, his followers must venture to the catacombs or graveyard (or whereever local dead are kept) and pay homage to the dead, typicaly through prayer and small offerings of fruit and water. On the first and last day of the month, however, an animal sacrifice is expected, typicaly a goat or pig, as to acknowledge the passing of life into the next world. Finaly, on the last full moon of the year, all undead summoned that year must be returned to their graves, never to be disturbed again. As stated earlier, necromancy is permited, but only in using the bodies of the dead as labor, and these undead are expected to recieve the same respect and treatment as the living (To an extent. They are not expect to be paid, of course.) and souls can only be used for communication with those in the afterlife. Worshipers typicaly have healthy relationships with those of other gods.

Relevant Symbols: Traditionaly, followers of Manimarco carry with them an octagonal jade medalion bearing the image of skull.

[Rune Alchemist]

Gah...this is harder than I thought. My brain is completely fried which is odd. The CS part is usually the easy part of an RP.

Meh, I'm going to see if I can't come up with something tomorrow.

[thepiedpiper]

Name: Duo, The Decisive

Sphere: Fate

Domains:
1. Choice + Decision: Those facing choices, large and small, pray to him about which choice to make. Sometimes he answers, and it's always in his favor.
2. Gates: More symbolic than anything else. However, his followers believe that if they come across a locked door it means Duo does not want them going that way. Similarly, finding a door open means he approves of what they are doing and wants them to continue. Duo uses this to his advantage often.
3. Gambling: Gamblers pray to him, and he can affect the outcome of games and bets at his whim.

Personality: Duo may seem kind and polite when you talk to him, but he is greedy and power hungry. He uses his domains not for the betterment of society, but for his own personal benefit, which, to be fair, he does believe is what's best for the world

Worship: While most simply pray to him like we would god or a saint, his devout followers and priests have specific rituals they follow. These involve making things dual, as this is primarily Duo's specialty (this choice or that, open or close, win or lose.) They sacrifice animals by splitting them perfectly in half and burning each half on identical alters. Most people also carry a two faced coin if they pray to Duo, and hold it while praying.

Relevant Symbols: Two Faced Coin, An Open or Closed Gate, a divergent path (basically just a Y)

[thepiedpiper]

Wait, this is weird. I can't find this in the OOC forum anymore, or my profile. Just testing to make sure it's still here (had hit "back" a bunch of times to find it)

edit: Never mind. I fixed it.

[Imperfectionist]

I like the little pantheon we're putting together. There are some definite conflicts to be had between these guys...