Divinus VII

[Chris488]

Divinus VII

A Divine Roleplay

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<sub>Credits

Praise be to the following, for countless unknown hours, toiling away at the forge of creation. Without such contributions, we may never be where we are now.

Kho, Cyclone, Rtron, Muttonhawk, BBeast, Lord Zee, Not Fishing, Double Capybara, Enzayne, Commodore, Zurajai, AdorableSaucer, Lauder, Frettzo and Chris488.

Also a huge shoutout to everyone else who has continued to show their support over the years. Without you there would be no Divinus!</sub>

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Synopsis

This is a story describing the Divine and their great acts of creation; the unfolding history of the cosmos as a new pantheon of gods and goddesses seek to express their will upon the known world and its numerous denizens. This is Divinus...

The sacred seed of a nascent world shall be sown, and Anath calls out to those that would become its cultivators and architects - to those that would become Divine. These new deities originating from both near and from afar shall shape reality in accordance to their desires with the cosmic might that they possess. Anath intends to recede into her realm, and has granted free reign to those that would join the pantheon and enact their vision upon the world...

These deities may shift the landscape, sculpt the seas, stain the skies, beget a myriad of flora, fauna, spirits and elementals, both the beastial and the civilized. These deities may craft potent relics and command powerful armies, or conjure horrific monstrosities fought by sanctioned heroes seeking glory as they defend the dreams and passions of the Divine. There is no end to the tales that will be told when the world is woven into existence...

The Divine adhere to many rules, but do not be daunted. This RP is about weaving fantastical stories, and exploring a new world wherein gods and goddesses walk among mortals and rewrite reality. All of the rules are for the sake of cohesive writing and fair play, so have fun!

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Mechanics

Turns

The roleplay is divided in turns. They are associated with the passage of time IC, but it's typically vague and left to the players.

Each turn gives the player Might and Aspect Points to use, any points not spent at the end of the turn are wasted and do not carry over to the next turn’s budget.

You will always receive 5MP/5AP

Aspects

An Aspect is an element of the universe over which a god rules absolute. These 'elements' can range from the obvious (Love, War, Death, Crafting and classical elements such as Water and Fire) to the abstract (Journeys, Secrets, Purity, Loss, etc). They often align with a
deity beyond merely what powers they command, especially in their worldview or personality. Aspects are unique and cannot be shared. Only one can truly master their chosen facet.

As well as Might, Aspects allow the player to spend Aspect Points (or AP) on actions related to their Aspect. A god begins with one Aspect. Additional Aspects require a player to spend 3 MP in actions related to that new Aspect. A player is then able to spend an additional 3MP to acquire this new Aspect.

See the Aspect Points section below for more detail.

To unlock another Aspect, you would need to spend 3 might points (MP) towards its acquisition.

Example; A War god makes an artifact for 1MP; a crown that dominates the mind of the one who wears it and turns them into a monster. That War god then has 1/3MP spent towards the Domination Aspect

Once they have spent a total of 3MP or more towards the Domination Aspect (can be three individual actions, one whole sum or a combination of both), they then can then spend 3 might points (MP) to purchase that Aspect. They are now the god of both War and Domination.

Finally, Aspects allow for discounts in the might catalog. Unlike past Divinus where the discount rounded down, this time the discount will round up.

Example: The War god spends 5MP building a war related artifact. They decide to discount the artifact by half. 5/2 = 2.5, which we would then round up to 3. Thus they would only pay 3MP for their war artifact. Another example would be a 3MP Artifact, discounted to 1.5 and rounded up to 2, which would then be the cost. A 1MP artifact discounted by half is 0.5, rounded up is 1, thus their cost is still 1MP. An even example is a 4MP artifact discounted to 2MP, since it isn’t a decimal the number remains 2 and is not rounded up.

Realms

A God’s personal locus of power. A realm is a loose term to describe a place or seat where a God resides. From a towering alabaster castle, to a woodland of dark pines, an ocean monument or a deep and dark mountain home, a realm can come in many different shapes and flavors. All share these common points however; It must hold a space in the physical plane. The realm can be ‘moved’ and made somewhere else for a flat additional cost, you can only have one realm at a time. A God has absolute authority in their own realm but are never completely invulnerable. Finally, a realm can only be as large as a minor change to the landscape.

All realms cost 2MP to create and 2MP to relocate (as needed). These costs cannot be discounted through Aspects.

Might

Might Points

Might Points (MP) and Aspect Points (AP), also known as Might, are the primary ‘currency’ of your characters and are a way of measuring the power and exertion that a god puts into their various actions. The ultimate limit on the powerful acts of your gods is based on these Points.

All gods receive a base income of 5 MP & 5 AP per turn. Aspect Points may not be spent towards future aspect acquisitions. At the start of each Turn, all unspent Might and Aspect Points from the previous turn are lost.

Might is spent whenever your god creates something significant or performs a feat of great godly power beyond your regular capabilities. Typically more Might is expended for more powerful actions. MP and AP can only be spent in whole number increments; an act which would be worth less than 1 MP could probably be performed for free.

Aspect Points

Here’s a further look into AP. Unlike Might points, which can be spent freely on anything in the catalog, Aspect Points can only be spent on things that have a direct correlation with your Aspects(s) or that which you directly create with MP - as a foundation for further creation. For example, a god of animals wishes to create an extraordinary species of giant goats. They are free to use their AP to do so, because their aspect is animals, and by extension, goats fall under that aspect. A god of death would not be able to use their AP to make goats, but would be free to do so with MP. (That is unless such goats are undead or death related of course.)

Aspect Points cannot contribute towards unlocking new Aspects unlike Might Points. Once you acquire a new aspect (once again by spending 3mp on relevant actions towards the new aspect and then purchasing the said aspect for an additional 3mp, you are able to use AP for said aspect.

The goal of AP is to allow a God to have points used specifically for their own aspect(s).

The Catalog

• 2 Might: Creating a relatively minor change to the landscape; rending a small valley or canyon, creating a river, raising a mountain or a (small) island.
• 5 Might: Significantly changing the landscape; creating a chain of mountains, or an entire desert, raising a large island or an archipelago of smaller ones.
• 8 Might: Causing extreme change to the landscape; raising an entire (mostly empty) continent from the sea, or willing into existence a sizable (moon-sized) Celestial body.
• 2 Might: Create a small ecosystem, which can fill a region such as a river, valley, mountain or small island.
• 5 Might: Create a large ecosystem, which can fill a large geographic region such as a whole mountain range, an archipelago, or desert.
• 1-3 Might: Create an extraordinary species. More might (up to 3), the more extraordinary.(Manticores, Dragons, Lovecraftian Horrors, etc.)
• 2 Might: Create a legendary beast of phenomenal power. (Godzilla, Thunderbird, Kraken, King Kong, etc.)
• 4 Might: Create a sapient species. (Something along humanities power scale; Humans, Catfolk, Hobbits, Goblins, Orcs) Note; Any sapient species cannot be discounted.
• 6 Might: Create an extraordinary sapient species (Something normally above the power scale of a human; Demons, Angels, Giants) Note; Any sapient species cannot be discounted.
• 1 Might: Teach people an idea or technology. This idea or technology should be reasonably attainable from the people’s present culture and technology.
• 1 Might: Bestowing a group with a one-time gift of powerful artifacts beyond their present abilities to craft (e.g. a set of steel swords in a timeframe of copper age technology).
• 1+ Might: Blessing or cursing a group of people. These should come in different flavors for different gods, but in general, incurring the curse of any god should be a frightening thing indeed. The curse or blessing is like a whip or a carrot respectively; though it is the will of your god made manifest, it is not so powerful as to spell certain doom or utter paradise for those affected. Think something along the lines of perpetually good harvests for a blessing, and incessant nightmares or general sluggishness and fatigue as curses. Blessings or curses can last indefinitely and affect entire bloodlines or regions. A blessing or curse from a given god can be broken by said god free of charge or counteracted by a 1+ MP expenditure from any other god. The more powerful a curse is, the greater it costs and likewise the amount to break it.
• 1 Might: Create a Hero. These are exceptionally powerful individuals among your creations whose powers and skills are renowned and well beyond the capabilities of normal members of their species.
• 3 Might: Create a Holy Order. Just as heroes can come in a variety of forms and flavors, holy orders can likewise be a marauding horde, a circle of wizards, knight-paladins tasked with healing the sick and keeping the peace, or anything else.
• 1-5 Might: Create an Artifact. A functional relic with the amount of Might determining its overall power. If multiple gods work together to create an artifact, each can contribute up to 5 Might, so the most powerful artifacts will be ones that were made through the combined efforts of several gods. Artifacts can be lost, stolen, destroyed, traded, etc.
• 1-5 Might: Create a Monument. A functional site with the amount of Might determining its overall power. If multiple gods work together to create a monument, each can contribute up to 5 Might, so the most powerful monuments will be ones that were made through the combined efforts of several gods. Monuments are more powerful than an artifact of the same Might value, however this advantage is offset by their disadvantages in being immobile.
• 2 Might: Create a realm. See realm section for more information. Cannot be discounted.
• 1+ Might: Perform some other godly feat. You can expend Might to perform incredible actions beyond your innate abilities, such as manipulating the weather, hurling mighty fireballs, putting a city to sleep, shrugging off a devastating blow, punching someone really hard, manifesting a form that is far too much to be withstood by mortals, often kill or blind those who come into direct eye contact with said form. Typically a Domain or Portfolio will provide you with a wide set of godly feats you can perform for free, and Artifacts and holy sites provide more potent ongoing/reusable abilities. The more Might spent on an action, the more potent it is.
• 5 Might: Acquiring an Avatar.

The Innate Abilities of Gods

• Gods cannot be harmed by mundane weapons or magic, they are simply far too weak to do damage to a god. However, a god can muster enough power to hurt or even ‘kill’ another, even though true death for a god is a daunting task to pursue in a fair fight. Furthermore, gods do not suffer ailments that afflict mortals.
• Gods are able to shapeshift between their forms related to their aspects, and that of a mortal form.
• The very lands themselves can be bent to the whims of gods, all gods can create or modify the environment and its denizens in their localized area.
• The senses of a god stretch to that of the very horizons themselves, able to see in perfect clarity. They are able to see heat and magnetic pulls and they are able to hear for as far as they can see, selectively tuning out annoyances as they wish or discerning individual speech from a large crowd. What a God cannot do freely is read the minds of mortal kind unless they have expended Might in some capacity that aids with this endeavor
• Traveling as a god is innately faster than what mortal eyes can perceive, being able to run, jump, float, swim, or merely fly, faster than nearly all things in the cosmos.

On Avatars

Avatars and their use to Deities: An avatar is a fragment of a deities power. They can range from being essentially a puppet that has no mind or will of its own, or they can be completely independent of their patron deity and interpret the deities commands in their own way.

An avatar's use to a deity is twofold: Firstly, they are a direct extension of a deity's power, and can directly spend Might or Aspect points for their creator at any time. In addition, an Avatar's power is small enough that, unless an avatar identifies themselves or reveals their divine power, they can serve as virtually incognito agents of the divine.

Avatars, at least in comparison to their creator deities, are far weaker. Though even this comparative weakness is still far stronger than a mortal could ever hope to become normally. They do not require sleep, nourishment, or any kind of physical relief. Though, naturally, they may choose to emulate these needs if they desire. Beyond this lack of needs an avatar can effortlessly move at speeds that would make the fastest runners seem slow, undertake physical challenges that make even the strongest mortal seem weak, and perceive the world so perfectly that almost nothing can escape their detection.

Creating an Avatar takes 5 MP or AP if related to an Aspect. The limit to a deity’s avatars is directly tied to their total number of Aspects. If appropriately themed, an avatar may be discounted in price.

In addition, it is possible that becoming an avatar is something that a deity can reward a mortal, should they see fit to do so. This ritual will take 5 MP or AP, and will irreversibly convert the mortal into being an avatar while rejuvenating them to their physical prime. A majority of mortals, even if they interact with the divine on a daily basis, are not going to be mentally prepared for the aftermath of such a transformation: A feeling of limitlessness, access to heaps of divine knowledge, and access to the ability to create and destroy as a divine does are all things that they simply can never comprehend as a mortal, and these converted avatars will require careful guidance once the transformation is complete. However, these transformed mortals will have wisdom and experience that most deities will simply never be able to have, and can prove to be valuable advisors, spies, or leaders depending on what a deity requires of them.

New Gods

New players may join as recently arrived deities, or may join as a demigod. Demigods function much in the same way as normal gods do, however their Might and Aspect points are reduced to reflect their status, thus they will receive only 2 MP and 3 AP at the beginning of a turn. A demigod can become a god, if they prove themselves worthy of such a responsibility.

Champions & Orders

Great heroes of legend, whether they be warriors, scholars, or leaders, are those chosen by patron gods and gifted extraordinary power. These champions can be devastating forces on the field of battle, or they may even be wizened sages with little affinity for fighting. All champions are exceptionally resilient individuals but all champions can be felled one way or another, whether they have a singular weakness and such. Champions are able to, like gods, grant boons, create lesser artifacts, teach their people a technology or idea, or perform tremendous tasks using their own Spirit.

Spirit is a currency of sorts that is not meant to limit the pacing of a champion’s story or impose costs upon actions that normal mortals can do, but rather to act as a bonus that lets the champion occasionally get rewards or perform things that should otherwise require divine intervention. You can think of spirit as being akin to accumulated favor with the gods, or perhaps even bits of divine power itself.

Earning Spirit

1 spirit, at a minimum, is awarded to a champion for every post in which they appear as more than just a passing mention in one line.
1 spirit is additionally awarded to a champion if they are the main character and central focus of the post. This only applies to one champion per post; however,
1 spirit is additionally awarded to all relevant champions if the post is a collab.
1 spirit is additionally earned if the post is of medium length (think about 10+ non-dialogue paragraphs). This is just so that it’s not so much more ‘optimal’ to break posts into lots of smaller chunks to farm spirit.
1 spirit is additionally earned if the post is particularly long (25+ non-dialogue paragraphs), and the champion features throughout it all.
4 spirit can be awarded as a lump sum if a champion embarks upon and completes a significant mission, quest, or personal goal of some sort that they either set for themselves or were given by another champion or mortal.
10 spirit can be awarded as a lump sum if a champion completes a divine quest. These can be handed out by any god or demigod for free, but they should be somewhat arduous and span over several posts in order to justify this princely reward!

Of course, given that heroes are far weaker than gods, they are not able to achieve the same great abilities or use spirit to perform feats as grand as a god might. What a god could make or do pertaining to their aspect at no cost, a champion must spend a significant amount of Spirit to even come close to replicating. Champions just generally cannot hope to outdo the gods without Herculean efforts. Some examples of how to spend Spirit are as follows:

Tor the Scholar desires to found a community behind him, choosing to found a tribe he spends 10 of his Spirit to found the group and imposes upon them his philosophy that plagiarism is sinful, and other such unifying thought.

Tor the Scholar then wishes to make a magical glowing tablet that does not naturally decay and which codifies the history and laws of the tribe; he spends 4 of his Spirit to make this minor artifact that will exist in the tribe until it is either destroyed or forgotten about.

Tor the Scholar then seeks to solidify his power by creating a magical crown that confers not only style and charisma, but also imbues its wearer with the ability to taste plagiarism if one licks a parchment or tablet in question. For this more potent artifact, 10 spirit is appropriate.

Here is a non-exhaustive list of Spirit expenditures:

The Catalog

2 Spirit: Push their limits to perform a single great feat well beyond what they're normally capable of, and far beyond what normal mortals could do. (e.g. wrestle with a much larger beast or creature, cast some gigantic spell, journey for many days without stopping for rest)
4-12 Spirit: Craft a powerful artifact. These artifacts are not meant to be as potent or extreme as those made by gods, and can be broken if mishandled; in general they are weaker than an artifact made by a god for 1 Might. (These Artifacts can range from Throgg the Death Knight attaching his soul to his sword to making a crown that scares away goblins). Spending additional spirit can allow you to upgrade the artifact, and you can do this incrementally over time.
8 Spirit: Invent and teach people a new basic technology, spell or idea. (e.g. stone houses, mercantilism, commune with birds)
10 Spirit: Somehow enhance a community to become exceptional. You need not spend Spirit to merely raise an army or found a city -- normal mortals can do such things -- but doing this will make them much grander. Think raising a mighty warband, founding a kingdom that shall endure for a long time, creating some subversive cult that might rapidly grow and undermine (and perhaps even destroy) a nation, or anything else. This can freely include some new technology or idea that binds them together, from the bullet point above.
12 Spirit: Anoint another Champion.
15 Spirit: Consecrate an area with some blessing or otherwise imbue it with power; for instance, making a farmland especially fertile, or a fortress’ walls almost impregnable.
25 Spirit: Found a holy order, which can include giving them unique powers: think along the lines of a new magic system, or martial art, or knowledge of how to craft some sort of exotic weaponry.
~100 Spirit: Attempt to attain demigod status. At this point, a champion will have shown sufficient valor to begin drawing the attention of the divine, and perhaps even Anath.

Holy Orders
Sometimes one or two champions isn’t enough, and instead a god might choose to create some large group to perform a similar role. Just as champions can come in a variety of forms and flavors, holy orders can likewise be a marauding horde, a circle of wizards, knight-paladins tasked with healing the sick and keeping the peace, or anything else. A holy order costs 3 Might for a god to found, but champions can alternatively create them with spirit.

The general rule of thumb is that the more members are present in a holy order, the less potent you should expect them to be individually -- for instance, a sacred band of ten warriors might have each one rival a champion in strength, but a vast army of a hundred thousand crusaders should probably confer only modest powers upon the members. This isn’t to say that if half the holy order is wiped out the remaining half grow twice as powerful as they don’t have to share some source of power with as many people (though it might make sense to say that the survivors were generally those that were more powerful to begin with) or that a circle of five wizards adding a sixth member should expect each individual to grow much weaker. It’s just that very powerful holy orders should generally be small in size, and that much larger ones shouldn’t expect to grant as much power.

However, you can have individuals that are both members of a holy order and champions, and/or individuals that are part of two or more holy orders at the same time.

Much as champions earn and spend Spirit, holy orders earn Prestige. This is once again meant as more of a reward that allows a holy order to create things that would otherwise probably need to be made by a god using Might, or to do truly exceptional feats, and not as some tax that they must pay in order to fulfill the everyday functions the holy order was created for. Prestige is generally more valuable than Spirit, but harder to earn.

Earning Prestige

1 Prestige is awarded for every post in which the holy order is not just offhandedly mentioned, but plays a significant role.
1 Prestige is additionally awarded if on top of the above point, it’s also an especially long post and they play a role throughout most of it.
5 Prestige is earned if the holy order completes a divine quest or directive of some sort that was assigned by a god. This should be somewhat challenging and take a while for them to accomplish!

Prestige Catalog

1 Prestige: Quickly recruit and train up to standard a significant number of new members. You can recruit members for free over time and hand out a uniform or whatnot to almost anyone, but it would normally take time to fully anoint them and get them up to par with the rest of the order’s members.
3 Prestige: Invent and proliferate some new technology, philosophy, or skill among themselves and/or surrounding communities.
3-8 Prestige: Manufacturing or enchanting some unique artifact. Much like artifacts bought with a champion’s spirit, these are meant to not be too extreme and to generally be inferior compared to those directly forged by a god using Might.
5 Prestige: Making significant upgrades to the holy order’s powers, equipment, or tactics; think of this as being equivalent to a Blessing or such.
5-10 Prestige: Consecrate some place as sacred, effectively either creating a monument or bestowing a blessing upon the region.
7 Prestige: Anoint a champion from some promising member of the order’s ranks.
10 Prestige: Forming a new holy order. This may splinter off as something wholly separate and rivalrous, or be a friendly sister organization, or be something akin to an upper rank within the holy order (with the two overlapping)

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General Rules and Regulations

• The Golden Rule--Do not godmod/metagame/powerplay. It’s ironic because this is an RP with actual gods as characters; however, there are definitely limits as to the power level of our gods. We’re trying to make a collaborative story rather than host a game meant to be ‘won,’ so please keep that in mind as you write.
• The Rule of Fair Warning--Before significantly influencing someone else’s creations, especially if it is going to be in a destructive way, give them some fair warning OOC so that potential objections can be made ahead of time and plans can be shifted. Ideally conflicts between two gods that lead to destruction or harm of one god or its possessions will be written with the consent of both players, but if you think that somebody is being unreasonable us GMs can intervene.
• The Good Samaritan Rule--Somewhere in every post, please attach a hider box containing a short summary of the post’s actions, including how Might has been expended in the post if applicable. As Divinus RPs have traditionally had some massive posts, this helps greatly when trying to keep track of all that’s been going on and when trying to make sure you didn’t miss any important plot point within some massive post. That being said, please do still try to read all IC posts and not just the summaries.
  Example: Your summary should convey the bare minimum of which characters were involved, what major plot points were covered, and which (if any) other peoples' characters you're initiating some sort of action with, and how MP, DP and Prestige was spent.
• The Bookkeeping Rule--We will be using a wiki to store character and creation sheets, as past experience has demonstrated that RPGuild character tab on this thread won’t be enough space and will get too cluttered. For all creations of significance, please make at least a 1-2 sentence page for them on our wiki. The 0th post on the characters section will contain a link to our wiki; if you need any help figuring out how to use the wiki, by all means feel free to ask.
  Clarification: Though the wiki is considered canon, you should still describe your creations IC. Don't simply reference that you've made a creation IC and then make us all go to the wiki article to find out basic details on what the creation does; it's unhealthy to make reading the wiki articles obligatory for one's understanding of what's happening IC.
• Leave of Absence--Please give us forewarning on the OOC if circumstances dictate that you will become inactive in the RP for a time. I’m sure we’ve all seen the phenomena of people simply vanishing; it’s frustrating and leaves work where the others have to pick up the narrative pieces. Failure to follow this rule can potentially lead to your god being deposed IC; the Lifeblood works in mysterious ways.
• Sexual Content--Please keep it PG-13. Fade to black, and always remember, the Guild Rules come first and foremost.
  
  The above commandments are most important. Almost every other conduct is to fall under the domain of common sense and the RPGuild rules, with the understanding that our goal is to collaboratively create cool narratives. Be considerate to one another and facilitate storytelling. If there are any concerns or clarifications required, the GMs are always happy to help.

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Character Creation

As you consider ideas for your character and grapple with what you want to do, We would encourage you to first focus upon what sort of Aspect you want to have, and then use that as a foundation to construct a god that makes sense given that dimension.

Beyond the concept for your character, you should also have an idea of what you want your god to do, how your god might change or progress, how they will contribute to the story and how they will interact with other players.

Note: Returning characters from previous iterations is permitted, but that character does not possess any of their prior powers or possessions, and abides by the new system. When writing a returning character, please remember to not make it so it is required to read the previous iterations to understand them.

Character Sheet

Name: ((To know your god, name your god.))

Base Form: ((Pictures, descriptions or both are fine. Any specific capability of this form over the others should be described.))

Aspect: ((Give us some idea of what this means, this should not merely be a generic definition of the term but also showcase your god’s take on the concept))

Persona: ((General moral alignment, ambitions, personality traits, etc.))

Myth: ((OPTIONAL; Share a scene from what you imagine the myth of your god to be. Maybe it’s a story of one time the god performed a miracle, maybe it’s an old hermit sharing some scripture on the god’s wisdom, or maybe it’s a scene of the god doing something godly.))

Musical Theme: ((What’s their jam? Optional.))

((Lastly, remember to read the OP thoroughly!))

Feel free to join the Discord:

[Squad 404]

Here I am and here I will say that I will once more join Divinus.

[Lord Zee]

You have my axe

[Dark Cloud]

Man, can't wait for Divinus 500! Keeping an eye on this.

[AZTEC811]

YOOOO THIS IS SO COOL

[ActRaiserTheReturned]

I want to be in this.

[Enzayne]

I'm Commander Enzayne and this is my favourite thread on the RPGuild.

[Cyclone]

I noticed you've made some cool little tweaks Chris. I like the return of avatars and the ability to convert mortals into an avatar.

Awesome to see you carrying on the Divinus torch and best of luck with this one! I wasn't expecting it to come so soon; I'll certainly be thinking about joining if time permits.

[ActRaiserTheReturned]

I'm Commander Enzayne and this is my favourite thread on the RPGuild.

@Enzayne

You're someone who's been here nine years and have less than 300 posts. . . Egad, I'm like the complete opposite! lol.

[Enzayne]

<Snipped quote by Enzayne>

You're someone who's been here nine years and have less than 300 posts. . . Egad, I'm like the complete opposite! lol.

@ActRaiserTheReturned

My appearance and blessing is a rare thing!

[Chris488]

I noticed you've made some cool little tweaks Chris. I like the return of avatars and the ability to convert mortals into an avatar.

Awesome to see you carrying on the Divinus torch and best of luck with this one! I wasn't expecting it to come so soon; I'll certainly be thinking about joining if time permits.

@Cyclone

Thank you kindly! Others put a lot of the input and more work in writing this, truth be told. I'm just continuing to be a pest permanently attached to my characters and stories that happen in this setting. Anyway, I'd happy to see you join and write more!

Note for others that may read this: I'd be glad for anyone and everyone that joins!

[Commodore]

I’ve always liked the number seven, it’s a good number.

[ActRaiserTheReturned]

Name: Elore

Base Form:

His roar has a supersonic effect on all enemies. On evil enemies, his roar has the added effect of terror and worse damage.

Aspect: Good Virtue (Good is the Aspect of morality and virtue. Justice in the form of both punishment and reward, benevolent use of power, honor, protecting the innocent from harm, and defending the weak/or weaker than yourself.)

Persona: Generally Elore is Good, maybe Lawful Good but more emphasis on just Good. He wants to encourage and grow a benevolent, honorable society throughout as much of creation as possible. Elore is highly philosophical, and he can be forgiving, but he's also stern. For example, if he feels an evil doer who is generally turning away from evil he may let them die/kill them, but cause them to arrive in a positive after life/or perhaps try to help them work their way out of a bad one.

Myth: ((Still working on this one))

Musical Theme:
youtube.com/watch?v=KxBStbM5DkQ

[Kalmar]

Interested. Probably going to be a death god.

[Theyra]

Hey, and sorry for suddenly leaving the last version of the rp. Something came up. But, I will not make a sudden withdrawal this time and will try to stay. If you would have me, that is.

[ethanjory]

<Snipped quote by Enzayne>

You're someone who's been here nine years and have less than 300 posts. . . Egad, I'm like the complete opposite! lol.

@ActRaiserTheReturned

Wow, you're really calling us lurkers out, huh?

[Chris488]

Hey, and sorry for suddenly leaving the last version of the rp. Something came up. But, I will not make a sudden withdrawal this time and will try to stay. If you would have me, that is.

@Theyra

All are welcome to join! There's a Discord link at the bottom of the description if you want to discuss your ideas and a concept for a character! I am a little slow to respond otherwise.

[Kalmar]

Aldion, King of Hell

Aldion

The King of Hell

Base Form:


Aldion's form is fairly simple; a man with red skin and glowing eyes, with a pair of horns that can vary in size and shape. His height itself also varies, depending on how imposing he wishes to be. He usually wears black. He emits a natural aura of authority and command, and at its full force mortals will find themselves feeling compelled to kneel upon witnessing him. His favoured weapon is a one-handed warhammer with a flaming head. He also carries a magical tome of laws, ledgers, and contracts.

Aspect: Hell. As the God of Hell, Aldion holds domain over the Souls of the Damned. The 'damned' referring to souls who have committed some grave sin within their lifetime. Aldion holds power over such souls, and he uses this power to draw them to his realm. There, they are subject to intense and agonizing torture as a form of attonement, stripping them of their memories and much of their personality, while instilling them with discipline and unbreakable loyalty to their new master.

In this excruciating process, the majority of souls are destroyed outright, after years or even decades of searing pain. If the soul survives, however, then it is instead reborn as a demon - one of Aldion's infernal servants. These demons guard his realm against those who would steal from it, and serve as his agents on Galbar. They are often cruel and wicked by nature, for while their evil nature has been tempered by discipline, they are nonetheless evil. Some secretly seek to test mortals; tempting them down paths of damnation, to bring more souls to their master. Others are more honest and businesslike - making contracts and bargains, offering power or services in exchange for the soul of the signer or some other heavy cost, often hidden behind a loophole. Damnation must be willing, although Aldion's definition of 'willing' is quite flexible.

Persona: Aldion does not consider himself to be an evil god. In his eyes, the task he performs is a grim, but necessary one. Mortals must be held accountable for their crimes in the afterlife, else there will be no incentive to steer them toward good. At the same time, he would never consider himself to be a good deity. No. He is a lawful one, viewing himself as a keeper of laws and an enactor of retribution. He tests the mortals, and punishes them when they stumble. Sometimes he will even offer aid to mortals, although he rarely gives out such gifts for free.

Aldion also harbours a strong respect for oaths and contracts, to the point where his demons are mentally incapable of knowingly violating any verbal agreement to which they have sworn their word, or any written agreement to which they have applied their signature. However, although all contracts and oaths must be honoured, not all contracts and oaths must be in good faith. As a result, when offering deals to mortals they will usually try to include all sorts of loopholes and overly specific turns of phrases. Of course, as a result of all this, both Aldion and his demons are naturally wary toward any oaths and contracts they did not design themselves.

There are many acts which Aldion considers to be sinful. Oathbreaking, whether it be by violating a sworn spoken oath or by breaching a sign contract, is one of the worst, even if the oath or contract in question is unfavourable or if the person had good reasons for breaking it - the only way to exempt yourself from judgement is if the contract has a clause allowing it to be broken under the right circumstances. If not, then breaking any significant oath or contract can damn you, whether it be reneging on a business deal, cheating on a spouse, or rising in a rebellion against a liege you have sworn loyalty to. Although it must be noted that Aldion does not consider contracts or oaths sworn by children to be valid.

Heresy is another grave offense. Particularly, those who knowingly spread heresy. Aldion defines heresy as spreading slander or misinformation about the gods, falsely claiming to represent the gods, or as openly rejecting and defying the gods (rejecting or defying a particular god is alright, but not gods as a concept.) Of course the heresy must be knowing: someone who is raised with incorrect beliefs and is never given reason to doubt said beliefs will likely be spared Aldion's judgement. For someone who lacks such an excuse, however... Aldion will seek to claim their soul.

Most serious crimes are also enough to damn one's soul to hell. Murder, theft, cannibalism, treason, and perjury, to name a few. Any souls that have been stained by such offenses will be naturally drawn toward the fires of Hell.

Musical Theme:
youtube.com/watch?v=eqXcYOSqavs

[Squad 404]

Since we're already posting CS's, here's Celestine, goddess of war.

Celestine, Goddess of War.

Name: Celestine.

Base Form: Celestine's base form is, for lack of any better description, beautiful. To start with basic physical features, Celestine stands at a staggering height of ten feet tall. This allows her to tower over most people and project not only a feeling of superiority, but a feeling of confidence and self assurance that she hopes inspires the people following her with their own feelings of confidence. Celestine's skin is fair and soft, and she is often warm to the touch. In addition to this, Celestine's body is both well endowed and well developed, with robust yet not overwhelming muscles letting her retain an outwardly feminine hourglass shape.

Celestine's silvery white hair is extremely long, reaching down to her ankles if combed straight. It's naturally slightly curled state keeps it hovering around the low-calf range. It continues Celestine's trend of being welcoming and beautiful by being consistently soft to the touch, and freeing itself of dirt and other contaminants moments after they're introduced. In addition to keeping itself clean, Celestine's hair repairs itself from damage quite quickly, and will regrow to its original length in minutes if cut unless Celestine wills it to stay.

Celestine's eyes are a dull blue in color, and possess a soft warmness to them. Yet unlike her other features these betray the other side of Celestine, as even when she is being kind her eyes carry with them the weight of someone who has seen things that cannot be unseen or left behind. Being an elf, Celestine's ears are long and pointed, with each one extending several inches away from her head.

For clothing, Celestine has one outfit that she wears constantly. Befitting of her status as a goddess of war, this outfit is multiple layers of armor. Firstly is a bright red hooded cloak with gold hemming. Along with this is a smaller version of the cape that she wears around her waist, with a cloth tasset hanging from the front. In addition to this is a full suit of gleaming steel gothic plate armor, with nearly every possible piece accounted for, save a helmet. Beneath this armor is another full suit of mail armor, and beneath this is a gambeson along with other thick, padded clothing. Finally, beneath all of this, Celestine wears a set of plain silver clothing. Interestingly, this armor provides nearly no actual protection to Celestine, as most of her defensive ability comes from her status as a goddess. Still, she is seldom seen without it.

Something else frequently seen with Celestine is her sword, Duty. Duty is a longsword with a bright red hilt and scabbard. It's blade is steel in color and can be made to glow as bright as the sun at Celestine's command. The sword is supernaturally durable, refusing to bend or flex even when under extreme duress. Likewise, it's equally overwhelmingly sharp, with any contact to the edge drawing blood or otherwise leaving a lasting impression. Otherwise, the sword is as normal as any other sword.

Finally, Celestine carries a shield, Loyalty beneath her cloak. Loyalty is bright red in color with silver decorations. It, like Duty, is supernaturally durable. Refusing to buckle or bend under even extreme duress. However, an interesting feature is that unlike Duty, which is extremely light, Duty is extremely heavy. This makes not only impacts with it incredibly punishing, but it could be used as a way to pin someone to the ground and immobilize them.

Aspect: War.

Celestine is a goddess of war, though she does not engage in it eagerly. First and foremost is the idea that Celestine does not enjoy the prospect of initiating conflicts, instead choosing to attempt to lead with diplomacy and compromise in situations of confrontation and conflict. But in spite of this, Celestine is not unwilling to go to war. Many of the tactics she will employ are defensive in nature, designed to sacrifice some offensive capability in order to maximize defensive value and minimize her own personal losses.

But even should she be brought into direct conflict, Celestine is not opposed to making amends and building bridges. But there is a devious side to Celestine, one that is often overlooked. To Celestine, war doesn't stop on just the battlefield. It can be continued into the hearts and minds of the people of the enemy. They can be brought in as new friends, turned into husbands and wives, and eventually completely assimilated, wiping away what was once their independent culture, taking its best aspects, and integrating them into Celestine's own kingdoms. Celestine internally calls this a "Polite war", but it is still war regardless of how kind it is.

Thus, the beautiful figure of Celestine and is just as much a weapon as her actual weapons are.

Persona: Celestine would generally fall under the definition of "Lawful Neutral". She is polite and caring, but looks after her own people and her own interests first and foremost. She'll see to their safety in a time of crisis, and if seeing to their safety also helps others, then they too shall be helped. Outside of this, Celestine is polite and reserved and, if you're not on her bad side, is generally pleasant to be around and open to most things.

Myth: Celestine frowned as she looked over the map of the Valley of Roses. Her soldiers were positioned in strategically advantageous positions, but the rain season was going to start soon. The entire valley would turn into nothing more than a slick mud pit. They had weeks at best, and days at worst, to move out of the valley. If they were lucky, a few volleys from archers could cause them to hunker down enough for the cavalry to mount up and charge, but they had set up a low-angle spike wall to deter Celestine's famous cavalry...

To say that there wasn't a simple solution was a bit of an understatement. It was possible that she could pull her own forces back and give some ground in order to try and draw them out of their fortifications and surround them on the field. The problem presented there is that they could only send a partial force out to claim what was left of her own fortifications and then proceed to pinch her own soldiers.

Such complication... But perhaps it was time to play the long game.

Starting to draft her orders, Celestine wrote that they should abandon the valley and pull back towards the ridge that they had taken last week. They would then re-fortify the position and wait for the rain season. Then when the rain arrived, they were to charge the valley and attempt to force the enemy to retreat to their prior fortifications. Then when they were caught in the slick mud left behind by the rain, archers would harass them for as long as they could to dwindle their numbers.

A few days went by, and reports came back that her plan had been a fair success. Knowing their numbers were weak, Celestine ordered a daring charge through the rain before they were able to recover. This crushed the spirit of the enemy soldiers, and they ended up capitulating. Welcoming the surrender with open arms, Celestine entered into phase two of her plans.

Establishing trade routes with the rose clans, Celestine had her elves trade away crafts of exquisite make for the rose-designed pottery, which was renowned for being able to resist the bitter colds of winter quite exceptionally. As years went by, more and more elves went to live among the rose clans, and with each wife or husband taken by the native woodborne rose clan members, the number of elves only grew exponentially, for each elf would only produce elven children.

Several years passed, and soon there were few of the woodborne rose clan members left. It was then that Celestine approached them, and offered them the choice to enter into her kingdom, as was their right as elves. With an overwhelming majority of elves, the decision was quite simple. And it was then that Celestine's victory was absolute, as the rose clans were no more.

Musical Theme:

Musical theme

[Commodore]

Indeed, Seven is a good Number

Life Unbound

---

Ia'Akhul

Form

She appears most commonly as a butterfly, with blue and purple wings. A dark blue rings the outside, foremost a light blue that lightens as it gets closer to her body. Aft more a deeper purple that brightens as it approaches the front. Her wingspan at full extent could reach out covering a human palm. Rather mundane looking at first. Her legs are all the appropriate lengths and well proportioned. A perfect little butterfly in fact.

Life

Ia’Akhul knows the joy that comes to life. She knows the beating heart, the breath of fresh air, the sip of cool water and the taste of sweet fruit. That which lives and the revelry of life is the domain of Ia’Akhul. All living things, from the innocent babe to the voracious monster, from the gigantic beast to the humble insect. All that grows, all that develops, all that lives; all is welcome in the embrace of Ia’Akhul.

From the tiny and simple to the large and complex. From barest bundle of struggling chemicals coming together in a simple microbe- to a full sapient being. All that lives she adores, she cares for, she embodies her fullest aspect of.

Persona

Ia’Akhul herself is rather hard to place on traditional scales of morality and personality. Amoral might be the best way to put it. This isn’t so much because she completely lacks such capacity- rather her own self is askew. She takes life seriously and wishes to spread it yes but that’s not much of an alignment. In her own actions she might coo and care for a lost calf, and in the next consign a cow to be devoured handily. This does not change from size or complexity of life, from a genius artist to a little microbe it could go much either way. To her, there is no inconsistency, these are not different behaviors, rather an embracing of life at its fullest- in the many ways it goes.

Musical Theme