This page lays out the basic rules for the game, from Power Points to Actions, from gods to the wikia. This just provides a quick and dirty overview of the rules. For some you'll want to see other pages for in-depth details.
Power Points (PP) represent a gods power in the world. It is a metagame concept used to try to make things fair; not everyone has a lot of time to invest in the game, but by restricting everyone's Actions by Power Points, it allows for participants with less time to still significantly influence the world. All actions require a certain amount of PP to perform. So how does one obtain PP?
Every god starts out with 4PP. They spend these on actions. Occasionally , the Administrators will note that there has been a reset and they will tell players how many more PP they have (base PP can vary). At reset, any additional sources of PP generation (if any exist) are reset, so they can be used again as well (see Artifacts and Exarchs for more information).
When do resets occur? Usually every week, around Sunday. This isn't a dead-set time, however. Sometimes the reset might come sooner, if the Admins feel that a reset is needed earlier. Maybe later, for a similar reason. But usually you can expect it on a Sunday.
4PP might not seem like much at first, especially when there are actions that cost 4PP to perform. However, there are two considerations in this regard. First, PP may be carried over from one turn to the next, but only if they were previously dedicated to a specific action.
Additionally, it is possible to increase the base PP that one receives each turn. This is covered in detail on the Power Points.
It is encouraged that participants attempt to post at least once every other day. Participants who appear only once a week (or less often) to spend their PP and then disappear again for several days may not be considered “active” and as such may not be given new PP every reset. If extreme enough, such individuals may also be asked to leave the game.
This doesn't mean you have to spend PP every day, just interact with the world and help us develop the setting.
Where PP Come FromEdit
This might seem like an odd topic, but it is worth while to establish where PP come from, in terms of the setting. Power Points reflect a god's power, the energy they use to perform actions. This is in contrast to a participant's power. Sometimes a participant might want to do something that would actually go against the nature of their god. Unfortunately, in those instances the player can't just say that the action happened despite what their god would have done. If one can find a clever way to roleplay the matter so that the god would perform that action, then it is quite acceptable, but PP comes from a god, not the player, so one must roleplay the use of PP accordingly.
Gods are the primary characters of the participants. They represent fundamental concepts and elements of the world, which are called "domains" (such as "Earth" or "War"). They do this through the use of roleplaying and "Actions". Gods create the universe and interact with each other to produce an interesting, playable setting for a table-top roleplaying game.
Every god should have its own Wikia page, which should be kept vaguely up-to-date by the controlling participant. When a participant enters the game, they will most likely be taking the role of a newly created god. As a god is often defined by their portfolio (those "domains" or aspects of the universe that they represent and care for), it can often be useful to consider what sort of god one will be controlling before one enters the game. Usually, one will have their starting domain assigned to them, though in rare cases the individual might determine it themselves. After that, a god is largely free to go about the world creating things and developing the setting.
If a god was created by a preexisting god, usually he/she/it will owe semi-allegiance to the god (or gods) that created him/her/it, and possibly be related to any existing pantheon that the creating god was a part of. Gods may change pantheons and ignore who they owe fealty to, but these serve to form a basic relationship structure between the gods and can help guide roleplaying interactions.
While an older god will generally be more powerful because he/she/it has had more time to create mortals, creatures, artifacts, servants, planes, etc in the world and form alliances with other players, the game is designed so that even new gods can challenge the old ones with a bit of cunning and teamwork.
When a participant joins the game, they should post a stat block to the OOC thread and they should add a page for their god on the wikia (see the New God page to do this easily). What is a stat block? This is a stat block:
Stat Block Edit
Name of God:
Proposed Ascension Domain Partners:
Explanation of the Stat BlockEdit
The following are brief explanations of the elements in the stat block.
A god’s Name is fairly straight forward: this is what a god is called. A god might have more than one name and various titles, all of which can be included here, but the first one should be the “official” name and it is the identifier used in the wikia. As such, a god should be named in such a way so as to not cause particular difficulties with the wikia.
Domains represent the aspects of the world that a god has particular interest in and control over. Gods will often be worshiped based on their domains. A God gets one Active domain and (at most) one Passive domain of their choice to start off. Please see the Domains page for more details on what an 'active' or 'passive' domain is. All domains should be listed here and domain pages should be created, if they do not already exist, and if the player envisions the domain as something not immediately obvious from the name (for example, if the "stars" of the star domain are really eyes).
A Holy Symbol is primarily for Dungeons and Dragons’ purposes. This is the symbol that clerics of your god might use as their implement, or that might adorn temples and holy places dedicated to your god.
The Physical Appearance of a god is just how other gods (as well as mortals and other beings) might perceive your god. A god might have a variety of forms, and a god’s physical appearance might change over the course of the game, but this is to help other players interact with your god; it is hard to interact if one doesn’t know what one is interacting with.
The Titles of your God are the special names that you are known of by mortals and Gods alike. Odin was the Allfather, Thor was The Hammer, etc.
Proposed Ascencion Partners are the Domains which you think would provide a good foil to your God. Think carefully, as sometimes the best foils are the least obvious. For instance, Undeath is obviously a foil to Life, but is can also be a foil to Time (for it is natural for all things to live and die and to live forever as an undead is unnatural to Time). We are planning on ascending Gods in pairs for the first part of the game.
Gods and MortalsEdit
Gods inherently exist on a different level than most mortals. Dumb beasts might be able to perceive a god, but a thinking-race like humans or elves cannot perceive the raw essence of the divine. Gods can influence mortals through Actions, but a god cannot easily sit down and chat with random mortals. Gods can create Avatars, however, for that purpose, or use Exarchs as intermediaries. Gods can interact with the material world, which mortals might interpret through cloud reading or the likes, or they can send dreams, but again, gods cannot interact directly with mortals.
In LoC, gods are not:
- omnipotent - they are restricted by Actions and Power Points.
- omniscient - they only know that which they have directly experienced, perceived, or have been informed of. A god might have a vast intelligence gathering network, but they still don't know everything that is going on in the game.
- omnipresent - they tend to be restricted to being in only one place at a time. Gods can still send messages across the world to each other, and if there is a good RP reason they can be in more than one places at a time, but generally if a participant wants to be involved in more than one location, that is what exarchs, heroes, and avatars are for.
The following is a list of actions that a god may take to shape the world, which requires the expenditure of PP. This list also offers an very brief explanation of the effects of those actions. In each case participants must be specific, such as outlining the uses/powers of an artifact. If homebrewed elements are being added to the game, the participant should post a descriptions of that item or creature to the wikia before posting it in game. Once again, the intent of the game, first and foremost, is to produce a campaign setting.
Posting a full statblock is ideal, but at the very least participants should post a description of what the object/creature is and where it can be found. This can be a few sentences on a new page, but it should serve to give other participants an easy reference to your creations.
Please see the Actions Page for more information on these and how to use them.
A low-level effect that does not require PP. These tend to be minor versions of other actions or more regular actions that have a very temporary effect.
A god causes a particular area, people group, or other thing to prosper.
A god issues divine instructions to a people group or the world at large.
A god creates or alters raw matter, forming clumps of land, mountains, rivers, or seas. Has two different levels.
A god causes disaster to befall a region, people group, or other such thing.
A god creates monsters to populate the world. These may include some intelligent races that are fundamentally incapable of forming a complex civilization.
A god creates a new divine being (either another god or an exarch).
A god creates an object or concept of divine essence, such as an artifact or a domain.
A god creates an intelligent race of creatures capable of developing a complex civilization.
A god crafts something that is part divine, part mundane, such as a plane or an avatar.
A god changes one thing into another. This has a variable PP cost that is dependant on what the final product is.
Planes are entire realms of existence. The universe that we live in, here in the real world, would count as a single plane. In Lords of Creations, planes might be entire universes, or small alcoves of existence. These places might overlap over "planes" and be separated only by imagination. In D&D, the Astral Sea and the Elemental Chaos are two such planes. See the Planes page for more information.
Avatars are bits of a god's power that have been bound more tightly to the mundane world. They are capable of interacting with mortals, they can be in different locations than their respective gods, but binding one's self to the world in such a manner is not without risk, as Avatars can be captured and destroyed.
An exarch is a divine servant; these creatures are created by a god (or gods) and are controlled by that god's player. These entities are different than the gods (unlike Avatars which are just specific manifestations of a god) and as such can behave in manners that might not be totally inline with a god's wishes. These entities can also serve as ambassadors to mortals. Please see the Artifacts and exarchs page for more inforamtion
The gods are capable of creating tools of great power, called artifacts. These tools can have mystical effects not found elsewhere in nature. An artifact might prevent certain beings from entering an area, or it might summon a perpetual storm. Artifacts may also be created by gods to specifically guide the fates of mortals, such as the Hand and Eye of Vecna from Dungeons and Dragons. In certain cases, Artifacts and Exarchs can provide bonus PP for a project. Please see the Artifacts and Exarchs page for more information.
Heroes are mortal beings that a participant in LoC might create and control. Heroes may not actually be "heroes" in the formal sense; they may be villains or mundane shopkeepers. Hero refers to the fact that these are mortals of great enough importance so as to have repeated mention in the game.
Since Lords of Creation is intended to produce a campaign setting for a pen and paper RPG, the gods are also supposed to create monsters to inhabit that setting. Monsters refer to any non-divine entity that would provide a challenge to any Player Character. Generally, monsters are fantastical beasts such as Griffons or Dragons, but powerful mundane creatures like a lion may count as well.
A populace is specifically a group of intelligent beings that are capable of developing a complex culture. Not all intelligent beings count as a populace; the development of a civilization is key.
Another term that might be thrown around is "race," which is largely synonymous with "populace." However, while those two terms might refer to an entire species, a "nation" refers to a specific group. This might be a subset of a race, or it might be a combination of several races. If the Greeks were called a populace, then Athens would be a nation.
Finally, "organizations" tend to be groups of individuals smaller than nations and directed towards a specific purpose. A thieves guild would be an organization, or a church to a specific god, etc.
Creatures are living things that might be mundane, might be fantastical, but of which are neither populaces nor monsters. An ordinary canary, for example, would count as a creature. Creatures do not offer a challenge to PCs.
At the start of the game there is nothing in existence. Land, water, and even air have to be created by the gods. Likewise, when these things are created they are barren; life has to be brought by the gods. And even intelligent life arises, they have to be taught by the gods.
When a populace is first created, it only knows a few basic concepts for surviving as a hunter-gatherer society. Nourish, harm, and command actions are used to help a society develop. While technically a populace could leap from a hunter-gatherer society to a high medieval one without a problem, this skips the all-important cultural development aspect and is frowned upon unless done for a specific reason.
At times, gods and mortals come into conflict. Such conflicts are best discussed out of game. More information can be found on the Combat Rules page.
Unfortunately, at times participants come into conflict with each other. There are no particular rules for that, though the Guidelines should be followed and the matter should be resolved outside of the game.
We've played around with maps before, but we want to make it a CRUCIAL part of LoC from now on. Each week at reset, a current map will be posted on Maplib and a link added to the reset post. ANY ACTION THAT WEEK THAT MODIFIES TERRAIN, MOVES POPULACES, CREATES POPULACES, ETC (something visiblie on a map) MUST be marked on said map. Otherwise, as they say, "It didn't happen") At the end of the week, the map will be updated with the changes and reposted. This serves two purposes. 1. It helps the admins keep track of everything and makes sure that the map ends up looking the way the players want it to, not how the admin thinks they want it to look. 2. It promotes more interactions as nations now will have natural neighbors, allies and enemies based on their location in proximity to one another (if you each are on opposite sides of a river, who owns the right to tax ships coming up the river?) Here's an example. www.maplib.net/map.php?id=12871