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AllMother
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Rules and Discussion

Post by AllMother »

Caamora’s E-Mail Address: Oldjove(AT)hotmail(DOT)com
Note: The above address is to be used when submitting turn orders. Subject line must contain the word "Prophet"

Being a Prophet.

The Villagers of Twinsriver have their myths and most believe in some sort of god or goddess, even ancestors and mythical heroes. You are a villager and it is your job to attract the attention of one of these deities. How you do that is up to you.

When you attract a god, it will be up to you to increase his/her popularity thus, increasing his/her divine power (see points section below).

As the prophet, you will be the leader of the religion. Therefore, you will need to build a priesthood for your chosen deity. These other priests will become your vassals, in essence. But, they can rebel against you too, so it will be necessary for you to keep them happy. They are people who have their own ideas and perceptions and they may not agree entirely with you. After all, they aren’t the ones hearing things directly from their deities. They only know what you tell them. They may misunderstand your instructions so be careful how you word things.

That being said, having another priest or priesthood will increase your popularity points substantially. You may attract another priest by your actions or you can “purchase” one with 3 total points (see point system below). Obviously, the priests who come to you naturally will be more loyal and understand you better than ones purchased.

In addition, you will need to build a temple for your deity. This will increase the deity’s power and by default, your popularity.

Two prophets of the same deity

You can be the prophet of only one god. No more, no less. You can however, have more than one prophet per god. Two players may attract the same deity. The deities who have more than one prophet will gain power faster.

Points

Popularity Points

Since you will not have a deity to gift you power in the beginning of the game, you will earn popularity points (PPs). Popularity points are earned by how successful you are in not only gaining the attention of a deity but by how many villagers are willing to follow you and thus, become worshippers of your deity.

Divine Power Points

These are the points given to you by your deity. Much like Acropolis, your PPs will be added to your TPS to equal your total points. PP + DP = total points (TP). You may not always get TPS but once given, they are yours.

On the same note, your deity may take away points from you if he/she is displeased in someway with your efforts. This is rare but it can happen.
Prophets start out with zero points. You have no popularity at the outset of the game. The points will be in whole numbers for the most part but at the GM’s discretion, might include partial points, much like Acropolis.
You will be able to save points for later use.

There is no gifting of points.

Land and natural resources

I would like to see use of the land and natural resources. I encourage players to develop the natural resources and use them for trade with other groups around the village. I will not be keeping track of who trades with whom or how much everything costs, etc. I just encourage more player interaction.

The natural resources available in Twinsriver are:
Clay
Sand
Marble/stone
Farmland
Timber
Natural metals

Be creative with these resources as they could help you gain in popularity. If you have suggestions for other natural resources, pm me and we can discuss.

GODS

The gods have domains and are strongest in that particular area but they are not limited to that domain. They are gods, after all. They have unlimited power and can do just about anything. They are very selfish and narcissistic.

The gods of this game exist in four tiers listed below. Depending on their prophet, they can jump between tiers to either gain or lose power. The more successful a prophet is, the stronger the deity becomes. The less successful the prophet is, the weaker the deity becomes. The gods of the First Tier are the strongest and as a result, extremely difficult to get. It is extremely rare for a god of the First Tier to choose a prophet. They are far above everything that you will have to really jump through hoops to garner their attention. Each lower tier is easier to attract attention.

NOTE: I have used the masculine term for god because you, the player, will not know the gender of your chosen deity until he or she chooses to make themselves known to you. Do not take it for granted that a god is male or female.

In addition, you may attract the attention of a deity whom you did not choose.

The tiers are written in stone. I will not change or add to them. I listed some old favorites and some new domains I found interesting. If you do not like the domains I have provided, you can make you own domain with an ancestor or hero.



First tier – these are the most powerful of the gods. They are generally seen as the creators and rulers of the heavens and far removed from all other things besides themselves. These are the fathers and the mothers.

The gods of the First Tier are:

God of Light
God of Darkness
God of Knowledge

Second tier – these may be considered the children of the first tier. More specific and unique, their domains do not limit them. They are as versatile as the first tier, just less powerful.

The gods of the Second Tier are:

God of War
God of the Underworld
God of the Sea
God of Earth
God of Hearth
God of the Hunt
God of Love
God of Trade
God of Metallurgy
God of Husbandry
God of Industry
God of Artistry
God of Astrology
God of Alchemy


Third tier – these are basically spirits or angels. They have power but are more like the creations with special skills. These creatures tend to be close to the earth and humans and are considered to be things like spirit of the wood, spirit of the stream, etc. They interact with humans more because of their close proximity to earth. They are less powerful than First and Second Tiers.

The gods of the Third Tier are:

Spirit of virtue
Spirit of justice
Spirit of excuses
Spirit of dawn
Spirit of desire
Spirit of festivals
Spirit of gluttony
Spirit of laziness
Spirit of vengeance
Spirit of education
Spirit of healing
Spirit of magic
Spirit of mirth
Spirit of joy
Spirit of peace
Spirit of chaos
Spirit of truth
Spirit of regret
Spirit of envy
Spirit of sorrow
Spirit of guilt
Spirit of greed
Spirit of hope
Spirit of kindness
Spirit of benevolence
Spirit of generosity

Ancestors and Heroes- These are literally what the word means – the dead relatives of humans. They have virtually no power but are still immortal and can grow power with popularity. These can be ancestors of your prophet or a hero. Anyone at all. It is up to the players to develop this tier, if they so desire.

Yes, this means that you can make up your own god with your own domain. It will just take longer to grow in power.


Beginner's Immunity

New prophets are granted three turns of immunity. During these turns, the character cannot be antagonized by other players (other than verbally in the Forum of the Gods).

This immunity is forfeit if the character willingly or through negligence antagonizes another character.


Manifestations

Gods can manifest in the world. Prophets cannot because they are already there. Duh.
A manifesting deity is vulnerable to deicide. If the deity dies, so does the prophet.

A prophet can ask his or her deity to manifest for whatever reason. The cost is 5 total points. However, there is no guarantee the deity will manifest, even with the point expenditure. Gods have their own ideas and are very selfish. If they can’t see the benefit to themselves, they may not do it so, make it worth their while.

Artifacts

Deities can create artifacts to channel their power into a form that can be given to mortals. Prophets cannot make artifacts. Prophets can request an artifact from their deity with the cost of 3 TPs and the permanent loss of 1 TP.


Monthly and Feast Day Patrons

A prophet can choose to exert 2 TP to establish a feast day (holy day, holiday, etc.). Sacrifices to a god on this day could total the number a god receives in a month alone, and things generally go much better for a god on this day. This is also a day your entire tribe can spend on your holy place without fear of bad things happening to them. For 4 more TPs, this is turned into your holy month, the pinnacle of which is the feast day, but the feast day must be established first.

The People follow a lunar calendar of exactly 28 days a month, twelve months a year.

You cannot declare either in the month in which your submitted turn takes place.

Extra-territoriality

The map will expand over time when I think the time is right. For now, know that Twinsriver is just a village in a bigger state. That state doesn’t interfere much with the village. However, there will be times when interference from without will occur.


Oaths and Consequences


Most gods lie. Some of them lie a lot. I hold no responsibility, though if any try to pull the wool over my eyes... *shakes fist menacingly*

Order Submittal and Order Results

Order Submittals

We have all played these games extensively so I’m confident you know the drill. For those of you who are new, here is a brief list of things to remember.

• Please summarize your moves at the beginning of your turn submittal for ease of processing.
• Don't include "if" statements in your submittal. In particular, try to avoid using "if" statements regarding the use of divine power (such as "if X does Y, then I spend these TPS towards purpose Z, but if X doesn't do Y, then those TPS will be spent towards another purpose.")
• Non-TPS movements are allowed because as humans, we do things every day without the use of magic, heh. Just please don’t bog down your turn submittal with non-TPS moves. I don’t want to read pages of characters traipsing through the village going here and there. Get it?
• While writing your moves, resist the temptation of creating characters that, "coincidentally", can help you overcome an obstacle. For example, if you are attacking a city, avoid writing something like "it just so happens that in that city, Mr. X is sympathetic to my cause and decides to open the gates to my army" unless you already were informed of Mr. X's existence, or you're willing to spend power to accomplish this end.
• Remember that if you are coordinating moves with another player, both of you need to mention it in your turn results. Otherwise, the move is null and void and the TPS lost.


GM Notes


You are all people of the same village and are all related to one another in some way. It is crucial that you work together and above all, interact with each other. No player will be allowed to be an island unto his/her self. In a village, if you are alone, people will begin to think that you are hiding something, will become suspicious, and will either kill you or run you out of town and therefore, out of the game. Participation is crucial to the success of this game. Any and all posting is encouraged.

Needless to say, everything posted in the game thread should be in character and in game. Things posted in the discussion thread are never considered in game, but any information publicly available is considered fair use by another player.

Competition against each other is encouraged. I don’t mind conflict at all.

I am not using dice however, I may use a random generator every now and again for random events. Don’t expect too many of them as I am new at this but just know that it’s a possibility in the future.

Unless you spend TPS specifically on making something secret, there is no guarantee of secrecy. Even then, the veil can be penetrated with sufficient perceptive force. Of course, I will do my best to not reveal something another player wouldn't have a good reason for knowing, and it can help try to be sneaky about what you're doing.

I don’t mind cryptic hints but I’m not sure I’m good at them. Of course, I suspect the only person asking for cryptic hints will be Fist so it gives me a good opportunity to mess with him.

Only prophets can post in the forum of the prophets.

My PM box is always open, but please don't take advantage of that fact. If at all possible, ask in the rules and comments thread so that others can benefit.
Last edited by AllMother on Wed Dec 05, 2012 8:22 pm, edited 3 times in total.
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Bela Gin
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Post by Bela Gin »

Well, if it's okay to stake a claim already, I'll take Third Tier's Spirit of Magic. :D


Or not...
Last edited by Bela Gin on Mon Apr 02, 2012 2:03 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by I'm Murrin »

I had the impression that you don't directly choose your deity, azver - you just start trying to get their attention and see what happens.
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Post by Goatkiller666 »

First post!

So, my first excited moment when reading the above was:
You will be able to save points for later use.

There is no gifting of points.
Rollover minutes RAWK.

Also, I recognized [Syl]'s writings in there. In some cases, the same bits of [Syl]'s writings that I kept intact when I plagiarized his rules for Inferno. All Hail [Syl] as the new Xar.

In the context of two prophets attracting the same deity, what's the downside for that? The deity gets twice as many people buffing him up... the prophets might bicker over which of them is the deity's favorite, but it seems like an amicable partnership could easily be worked out, and then you've got two players elevating the same deity. Win-win.
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Post by Goatkiller666 »

NOT the first post! Damn it! Fist and Murrin! *shakes fist*
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Post by [Syl] »

Goatkiller666 wrote: Also, I recognized [Syl]'s writings in there. In some cases, the same bits of [Syl]'s writings that I kept intact when I plagiarized his rules for Inferno. All Hail [Syl] as the new Xar.
Which I largely plagiarized from Xar, so the circle of GM'ing continues. I'm looking forward to the day that Xar gets his ass back here (optimist that I am) and incorporates some of Acropolis into Pantheon 4 so I can have a claim to legitimacy :mrgreen:
"It is not the literal past that rules us, save, possibly, in a biological sense. It is images of the past. Each new historical era mirrors itself in the picture and active mythology of its past or of a past borrowed from other cultures. It tests its sense of identity, of regress or new achievement against that past.”
-George Steiner
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Post by Fist and Faith »

Murrin wrote:I had the impression that you don't directly choose your deity, azver - you just start trying to get their attention and see what happens.
So now everyone knows which deity's attention I'll be trying to get. Anybody is free to go for the same one, of course.
All lies and jest
Still a man hears what he wants to hear
And disregards the rest
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Post by [Syl] »

I'm curious: how do you go about getting the attention of a more powerful (tier 1 or tier 2) god without angering the god you're already serving? Or do you just stick with what you got and make them more powerful?
"It is not the literal past that rules us, save, possibly, in a biological sense. It is images of the past. Each new historical era mirrors itself in the picture and active mythology of its past or of a past borrowed from other cultures. It tests its sense of identity, of regress or new achievement against that past.”
-George Steiner
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Post by Gener »

I vow to find the man who killed my brother.
"When it is not necessary to change, it is necessary not to change."
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Post by Fist and Faith »

Good question, Syl. Might piss off a spirit, if that's where you started. Starting with Tier 2 seems more difficult, but potentially has greater benefit. Starting with Tier 1 seems nearly impossible.
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Post by I'm Murrin »

The bit that bothers me is the note at the end that the characters are all living together in the same village. That's a very restrictive one compared to previous games.

Mind you, that's mostly because my first thought was to invent a horrible sadistic bastard and start tormenting and dominating the people around in the hopes of attracting the attention of someone suitably nasty.
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AllMother
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Post by AllMother »

The bit that bothers me is the note at the end that the characters are all living together in the same village. That's a very restrictive one compared to previous games.
I'm planning on this to be temporary. The map will expand. Read the Extra-territoriality section.
I'm curious: how do you go about getting the attention of a more powerful (tier 1 or tier 2) god without angering the god you're already serving? Or do you just stick with what you got and make them more powerful?
If you want one of the more powerful deities, shoot for that instead of settling for a lesser deity. You cannot serve two deities. If you do, you will suffer the consequences, heh.
In the context of two prophets attracting the same deity, what's the downside for that? The deity gets twice as many people buffing him up... the prophets might bicker over which of them is the deity's favorite, but it seems like an amicable partnership could easily be worked out, and then you've got two players elevating the same deity. Win-win.
I had considered this and was going to have an elaborate rule regarding this but I thought it would be better to let the players work it out for themselves. If two players want the same deity, go for it.
I had the impression that you don't directly choose your deity, azver - you just start trying to get their attention and see what happens.
As a player, you will choose the deity you want to follow. You just have to be creative and attract his/her attention. Chances are you're going to get the one you want. But, if you do something contrary to your deity, then you might attract the attention of a different deity. For example, you want the god of love and you become his/her prophet but then you kill someone, you might just attract the attention of the god of chaos.
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Post by Fist and Faith »

That is one freaky av, AllMother! :lol:
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Post by AllMother »

It's gorgeous, isn't it.
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Post by Fist and Faith »

Where's the full picture? I'd like to see more detail.

And where's the map??? heh

So how's it work? What do we know of the gods? If we make up everything about an Ancestor/Hero, how much do we not make up about the deities in the various tiers? What do I already know about the Spirit of Magic?
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Post by Menolly »

AllMother wrote:It's gorgeous, isn't it.
I saw it yesterday when the account was created and listed on the index as the newest member of the Watch and was awed by it then. Had a feeling it was your GM account for this game.

It is gorgeous.

A question regarding one of the rules, please.
AllMother wrote:Only gods can post in the forum of the gods.
So any posts there would be entered by you as the conduit for our deity?
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AllMother
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Post by AllMother »

So any posts there would be entered by you as the conduit for our deity?
Doh!

No, that was left over from the all the previous games we've played. It should read prophets can only post in the game forum. I will remedy that now.
Where's the full picture? I'd like to see more detail.
I pulled it off Google from a search of "Fractal art". I have it saved on my work computer.
And where's the map??? heh
Not posted yet.
So how's it work?
Read the rules.
What do we know of the gods?


You know only that they exist. You can safely assume that the god of love is interested in love, for example.
If we make up everything about an Ancestor/Hero, how much do we not make up about the deities in the various tiers?


If you are creating an Ancestor/Hero, you are not even concerned with the deities in the other tiers. YOu only want to develop your ancestor/hero. You can make any story you wish for an ancestor/hero.
What do I already know about the Spirit of Magic?
Only that the spirit of magic is interested in magic.
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Post by Fist and Faith »

AllMother wrote:
If we make up everything about an Ancestor/Hero, how much do we not make up about the deities in the various tiers?


If you are creating an Ancestor/Hero, you are not even concerned with the deities in the other tiers. YOu only want to develop your ancestor/hero. You can make any story you wish for an ancestor/hero.
What I'm asking is how different from the Ancestor/Hero is the Tier 3. We make up everything about the Ancestor/Hero. Other than domain, is there anything we do NOT make up about Tier 3? Will I tell you its name? Its origin and history? Its personality? How is it different than Ancestor/Hero other than the domains are already listed?

AllMother wrote:
What do I already know about the Spirit of Magic?
Only that the spirit of magic is interested in magic.
OK. Only that. So, for the most part, I'll be creating the Spirit of Magic.

Unless somebody else is also trying to attract Magic's attention, and gives you different things than I give you. In which case you'll have to tell us whose story is the real one.
All lies and jest
Still a man hears what he wants to hear
And disregards the rest
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Post by stonemaybe »

Are you looking for public posts or private turn submissions to see who can attract what god?
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Post by caamora »

Each tier is progressively weaker. First Tier is the strongest and ancestors/heroes are the weakest. So weak in fact, that they aren't considered a tier. The only gods you will be making up are from this tier. The First through Third Tiers are gods of my making. Think of the top three Tiers as non- player characters. So, no, you won't be creating the spirit if magic. He/she will reveal his/herself to you.

Stonemaybe, I'm looking for private actions in your turn submissions.
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