Scions: Rules and Discussion

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Scions: Rules and Discussion

Post by [Syl] »

SUMMARY

Two eons have passed since the fall of Eiran—the Journey and the Homesteading. The lucky few who made it onto the Arc before it departed have come to populate a new world—Pahlia. Most scions of Eiran know very little of their former world or its gods. Even the Journey and most of the Homesteading are shrouded in mystery, as the number of folk tales and competing accounts is exceeded only by the number of records that have been lost to the ages.

Now comes a new age, one foretold by virtually every religion, when gods would no longer watch from behind the Veil but actively participate in the affairs of all races and all nations. The reasons for the Interdict being lifted vary. Some say the craft of Simon—a god of both creation and destruction who is usually credited for creating the Arc—could only last so long. Some say that it was never intended to cover a world like Pahlia. Some few even suggest that the old gods are dead or gone, and it is the belief of mortals that gives rise to new gods.

One thing is clear: the survival of Pahlia depends on what happens next.

WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT

This game will largely stick to the same style and format as Xar's Pantheon. People will create their version of a god and play the game as those characters. Each god starts out with one domain—some particular aspect of the universe they're nominally in charge of. What the gods can do is limited only by their players' imaginations and the strength of their character in Divine Strength Points (DSP), and their DSP depends almost entirely on the number of followers they have.

Gods may be good, evil, weird, or any combination of the three. They may fight each other, fight external threats, or just watch from the sidelines.

Stuff (including gods themselves) may resurface from Pantheon (or any other game, really, as long as the player makes it work in Scions), however, nothing from Pantheon—by itself—should be considered canon. A player who's never seen a word of Pantheon should be able to play the game just as well as someone who's played all three versions.

THE GAME MASTER (GM)

That's me, Syl. You will send me your turn submissions privately by email. I will process all submissions to create turn results. I will declare some announcements and updates publicly (things everybody would expect to hear of) and each player will receive a private turn result (things only that player would expect to hear of). I will create some content to keep the game interesting, but mostly my job is to be the final arbiter of what does or does not happen on Pahlia.

How you choose to address me is up to you. You may consider me the Autarch, the spiritual successor to the Allfather. You may consider me Simjen (Simon), a kind of guiding spirit of the people descended from the Arc. You can consider me Syl, the dude who's reading your submission or answering what will undoubtedly be hundreds of questions. Since none of these personas will actually appear in the game, it's whatever makes it easiest for you.

SCIONS RULES, VERSION 1.0

Being a God

The next time someone asks you if you're a god, say "yes." What you're a god of is up to you—Oceans, War, Seasonal Affectation Disorder, whatever (the last is a joke, obviously. If you don't want your god to be a joke, something like that probably isn't a good idea, but the point is, it's up to you. If you want to be the god of it, do it). In fact, you can be the god of as many things as you want. Of course, there are a few catches.

First, you have to expend one point of your DSP—and one point only—to claim any particular domain. Only the first one is free. Every time you add a domain, however, you risk alienating a portion of your followers. You could also gain some, though. The more the new domain fits with your old, the less likely a schism is to occur.

Second, you can't have more domains than your Divine Rank. You can choose to discard a domain, but it will almost certainly mean losing some followers.

Third, you can't do much with your domain unless you use DSP. You can provide blessings for free, but you pretty much get what you pay for. So if you only have 1 DSP this turn and you use it to pick up a new domain, it will mean you'll have to wait the next turn to do anything with it.

All actions you personally take in the game will require you to use DSP. You might be able to stretch a DSP a long way (stretching it too far might also decrease your odds of success), but there ain't no such thing as a free lunch.

If you're new to this kind of game, you might wonder what some of the terms used above mean. As a god, you have followers. The more followers you have, the higher your Divine Rank. For every Divine Rank point you have, you will get 1 DSP per turn.

DSP is like the money you spend to do stuff as a god. It must be used or forfeited every turn. Spend it wisely.

Followers

At the start of the game, there are about 1 million mortals on Pahlia. There are probably even a few demigods or not-quite-divine immortals. Every one that claims you as their patron god (they might or might not believe in other gods, but they generally think you're the one for them) counts as one of your followers. The more followers you have, the higher your Divine Rank.

These numbers may need to be rebalanced as the game goes on, but for now, lets say that: 100 followers = 1 DR; 1000 = 2 DR; 10,000 = 3; 100,000 = 4; 250,000 = 5; 500,000 = 6; 750,000 = 8; 1,000,000 = 9; and 2,000,000 = 10.

Every god can have a grand total of one Prophet. It takes 1 DSP to appear to a mortal and make him your Prophet (the same if your chosen Prophet dies), forever hearing your voice in his/her ear, seeing visions, etc. You can have other Important Followers (also 1 DSP a piece, usually), but for the most part, the only mortal you can talk to gratis is your Prophet.

Mortals come in a variety of races. Human, Dwarrow, and Giants are the most common, but there are many other to discover/create. Whomever you choose to be your prophet will have to be of the race you primarily want to lead. Choose wisely.

Yes, there are dragons on Pahlia. Not very many. Any you encounter will be Non-Player Characters (NPCs). As with any NPC, you might be able to convince them to ally with you. Since dragons are highly resistant to divine influence and seem to care very little for the affairs of mortals, don't count on it. It's probably not a good idea to anger them, though.

Divine Action

So what can you do as a god? Ultimately, it's only limited by your DSP, your domain(s), and your imagination. Generally, you will use your DSP in some manner to effect some result. The God of Flowers might use a DSP to produce a rose whose intoxicating scent inspires love for him, increasing his number of followers. She might use a DSP to grow a field of thistles around a particular city, causing any invaders to succumb to delusions or intense pain, protecting her followers.

You can also create artifacts, which are basically anything that has an enduring effect on Pahlia beyond that turn. Artifacts are generally weaker than a more direct use of DSP would be. Their power may be lost over time, and there's a 50/50 chance they can break or lose their effectiveness every time they're used. The more DSP you use creating an artifact, the stronger it is.

You can create or discover a new race. Found a new city. The numbers will be small at first, and there's no guarantee that either will choose to follow you.

If an action is simple, there's a 100% chance that 1 DSP will achieve the intended result (barring outside influence from other players or world events). If it's large or complicated, 50%. Very large or complicated, 25%. However, if you spend 2 DSP, a large or complicated action then becomes a guaranteed success, while very large becomes 50/50. Three DSP, and very large becomes 100%.

It's probably a good idea to ask me about the odds before you try it. Exactly once per turn, you may tell me one thing you want to do, and I'll tell you how many DSP I think it will take to guarantee success. No questions will be answered after the first deadline.

The Interdict does not currently allow player manifestations in Pahlia. You can probably get away with appearing in dreams, manifesting as some kind of metaphor like a golden ram, or something else indirect achieved with standard DSP usage, but walking the earth as an immortal is pretty much out.

Submitting Turns

Submissions must be emailed to me at djakfrost at the mail of g. It should consist of a write-up, a summary, and a list of holdings.

The write-up is optional and can be in any form you want. It can be a first person narrative in the voice of your character, and can be you the person telling me the GM what you want to do, or detailed illustrations if that works for you. I suggest giving me just enough information for me to get the point, and not so much that I might get bogged down in the details.

The summary should consist of bullet points explaining what you're using your DSP on and/or how you're directing your Prophet.

Your holdings should list anything you possess or have going on that you think I should remember. Artifacts, important followers, and so forth. These should be no more than a few words long.

The first deadline will be the day set for all players' turns to be submitted (usually about 1 month after results are sent). When that day is reached or all turns are submitted, I will set the last deadline for that turn, which is basically the day I plan to have all turn results ready to send out. When results are out, the next turn starts and the first deadline is reset.

The first player to submit each turn will receive one random event guaranteed to be either good (beneficial) or neutral. An example of this may be discovering some ancient artifact or receiving a boost to population. Any players who submit after the first deadline will be up for one bad (detrimental) or neutral random event. For example, adventurers may burn down one of your temples.

All submissions are final, no submitting before results come out, and no declaring publicly (or privately, if I find out) if your turn is sent or not. Violaters will be punished.

Interacting with Other Players

You can talk to other players all you want, either privately or in the forum. All posts in the game thread should be made in character. Conversely, all posts in the discussion thread should not be cosidered part of the game. Any knowledge gained outside of the game is fair use inside of the game (divine intuition?), so guard your secrets.

Other players may work with you or against you, openly or secretly. You can form whatever alliances you wish, publicly or privately. The Interdict protects any player from interference from another player for his or her first three turns. It may also protect a player if it is ganged up upon or bullied without sufficient provocation, so please try to play fair and at that player's level (it's fine for a player with a Divine Rank of 6 to attack a player with a Divine Rank of 3, but they should only use 3 DSP to do it).

Players cannot give each other DSP to use. They can do favors for one another, but that's it.

Pahlia

Unfortunately for some of you, I imagine, there will be no map. I will keep and update a list of known cities, regions, etc., but you'll have to use your imaginations and a bit of RP on this one. Assume that anything not known is up for interpretation (just because Dwarronia Five isn't listed doesn't mean it might not have existed before being 'discovered').

Like Eiran, Pahlia is shrouded in mist. There is an increasingly cold region to the north—Arctica, an increasingly hot region to the south—The Badlands, and oceans at the east and west edges of the map. Every type of terrain you can imagine can probably be found somewhere—desert, forest, mountain, etc.


Winning the Game

It's probably a better idea to focus on not losing. Knowing how these games go, there's a good chance you could blow it all up. I can't imagine anybody hitting a DR of 10 couldn't win the game in a single turn, but who knows. The last god standing would probably also win, even if they only had a DR of 2. There may also be some kind of hidden purpose to the game, and discovering it could also be considered a kind of win condition. There are certainly things that I know about already that none of the players do, things that might very well give the game a known end-point if things play out right, but I tend to build on these things as I go along.

Hmm. Considering the players we have signed on right now, tell you what. If we play this game though to the end, I will tell whomever is determined to be the winner a very interesting thing about Goat's Inferno game that I'm pretty sure nobody ever figured out. This may be rescinded, though, if that game starts up again before we get there. Not sure what else I could offer as a prize, but we'll burn that bridge if we come to it.

Now, get ye to registering.
Last edited by [Syl] on Thu Mar 26, 2015 7:50 pm, edited 1 time in total.
"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 Illume Eltanin »

o-Gon-cho speaking for Raucous wrote:
The [i]Pantheon[/i] AllFather wrote:The eggs hatch, revealing the children to belong to two different species: seven of them (four males and three females) resemble humanoids with the physical traits of dragons, including golden scales on their skin, a tail, wings, and horn nubs. Two (a male and a female), however, resemble full-fledged, sparkling golden dragons - much different from the Second Age dragons or Third Age drakes. The powers of these children are still unknown, though their eyes shine with pure light and you can detect the faint spark of potential divinity in some of them, at least. They coo with pleasure as they are brought into this world by the Song of Welcome.
"Allow me to present the Children of the Lady of Light and Healing to you.

"The first two are our hope for the future of dragon-kind on Eiran. They are as different from the drakes and myself as can be imagined, and we shall learn of their traits, personalities, and should there be any, gifts as they mature. The male is Gryphon Sinclair, the female Aliyah Rhiannon. As with all our children, whenever they need to be addressed; only the first name need be used.

"The other seven, as you can see, are also special. Again we shall learn about them as they thrive. The four boys are Elomanad Larirenn, Fienn Keawyr, Ibialdan Drelawin, and Adream Dwendannor. The three girls are Traewen Elaendra, Illume Eltanin, and Calypso Solus."


As he finally focuses his attention entirely upon his children, the great bronze dragon "kisses" each of them with a tiny, controlled tendril of flame, producing joyous bursts of giggles from the children as he does so. Then, with tears in his eyes, he turns away from his newest source of joy, walks back to where he had first arrived, out of sight of unsuspecting eyes, slips back into stealth, and jumps between back to Zandarar.
Several turns later...
The Nine and their caretakers reach Magiddo with the Dragon Crown, the statue and the meteorite, which are delivered to Simjen.
I am grown.
I am Divine.
I am Yours.
...as You are Mine.
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Post by I'm Murrin »

Hmm, it would be nice to be on the player side of this again. I wasn't cut out to GM. I keep having too much trouble coming up with characters, though.
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Post by Fist and Faith »

With a million mortals, I guess not much in the way of cities. I wouldn't expect more than a few tens of thousand at most in any single town?

What about technology? Not much, I assume? Eiran didn't have much. But the Arc could have brought serious stuff with it, and a lot of time has passed. Still, with such a small population, I wouldn't expect much.
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Post by Colu »

The greatest power is that of the Mind. With its proper application, we can make a better world. A world of wonders. Learn.
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Post by Jove »

Jove has returned (same name, different goddess. Easier to recycle.
:wink: )
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Post by Avatar »

Place-holder while I decide what/who to play with/as/whatever. :D

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Post by Menolly »

No idea what domain yet for Illume. But according to the rules, we can't declare one until we spend our first DRP on it, yes?
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Post by Fist and Faith »

"Only the first one is free."
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Post by Menolly »

Yes, but it is spent in the first turn submission, nu?
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Post by [Syl] »

What Fist said.
"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 Menolly »

Hmm...
Well in that case, may as well pull a Zephyr, and claim a domain of Illume's divine mother. I'll stick with what I know, and go with Light. :)

So, for the first turn, as we do not have a DRP to convert a prophet nor a DRP to do any action, since we do not yet have any followers, what sort of actions will we be doing? Or am I wrong in thinking we have no followers for the first turn?
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Post by I'm Murrin »

Why would you think you won't have a DSP, when they're the only thing that lets you do anything? Assume everyone starts at 1, as usual.
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Post by Fist and Faith »

Goat's crazy busy, but thinks he'll be able to register tomorrow.

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Post by I'm Murrin »

I just spent fifteen minutes trying to work out what my alt account's current name is so I could start setting something up. When I finally realised it was Gurathnaka from Effaeldm's Lovecraftian thing, I was very tempted to just make that my character. I won't, though, because all out evil always goes pretty badly with other players. ;)

Also can't revive Kai, for the same reason (morally grey Chaos gods don't go down well either), or do the alternate version of Kai that I'd thought about for Pantheon. I've always done pretty solitary schemers, I guess. I should try to step outside my box.


On another subject, I'm not too keen on the idea of no map. Geography's pretty huge, strategically speaking, and who is neighbour to whom is very important. On the other hand, I'm well aware of what a total pain it is to create and update a map. I have no idea how Xar did it.
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Post by Menolly »

I'm Murrin wrote:Why would you think you won't have a DSP, when they're the only thing that lets you do anything? Assume everyone starts at 1, as usual.
Well, I am going off of what the rules state.
Simjen wrote:These numbers may need to be rebalanced as the game goes on, but for now, lets say that: 100 followers = 1 DR; 1000 = 2 DR; 10,000 = 3; 100,000 = 4; 250,000 = 5; 500,000 = 6; 750,000 = 8; 1,000,000 = 9; and 2,000,000 = 10.
So, we have an interdiction, which means we currently can not manifest. We have no prophet as of yet. We are unknown as of the first turn. How would we have even 100 followers to grant us 1 DR, and thus 1 DSP to use? If the first one is free, and we use it to declare a domain, we need to start becoming known before we would have any DR, right?

Or when told "only the first one is free," does that refer to choice of domain, and not DSP? Obviously, I'm very confused over this bit.
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Post by caamora »

I'm Murrin wrote:I just spent fifteen minutes trying to work out what my alt account's current name is so I could start setting something up. When I finally realised it was Gurathnaka from Effaeldm's Lovecraftian thing, I was very tempted to just make that my character. I won't, though, because all out evil always goes pretty badly with other players. ;)

Also can't revive Kai, for the same reason (morally grey Chaos gods don't go down well either), or do the alternate version of Kai that I'd thought about for Pantheon. I've always done pretty solitary schemers, I guess. I should try to step outside my box.
I have the same problem and just decided to take the easy way out - recycle Jove. I won't play her the same way as before but because I'm not a very creative person, she'll probably end up being the same.

As I'm writing this, I just had an idea for a different deity.

Can I change and not use Jove?
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Post by Fist and Faith »

I can't imagine anything's in stone yet.

Balon might be joining us! He just happened to text me a couple hours ago. First contact we've had in at least several months. Seems like a sign to me! :D
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Post by Menolly »

caamora wrote:As I'm writing this, I just had an idea for a different deity.

Can I change and not use Jove?
Why not? For now we're merely registering.

On the other hand, I've had Illume planned as my next deity in an Eiran-based game since The Nine hatched back in 2009...
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Post by Priam »

Ok then,
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