Character Creation / Discussion

Hey folks (or at the time of this writing, folk),

Let's use this thread to discuss characters and the campaign.

Loosely, my sense of this campaign is that it's about the rise of a new Pantheon of Gods. What this could mean is that this is the adventures of a subset of those gods -- it also helps wherein if you don't like how your character is evolving, you can probably easily whip up a new god (don't like playing the God of Speed? well, he can move off into the background and you can bring on that Goddess of Death you were hankering to play with).

I think this gives us the richest framework to hang around a campaign, and the most room to explore (and if I can manage to do an unsucky job -- it can help make the world feel more alive as other godlings make stuff happen around this part of the Afterworld -- sometimes in concert, sometimes in conflict...)

One of the most important first questions is -- do you think you want your characters to know and understand their divinity? Should this be something they're awakening too? For example, I thought that you could have been deposited here through some portal in the Aether by the greater gods of a neighboring realm. Aware of the total chaos that can take hold and erupt in a godless realm such as the Afterworld, they've seeded some of their up-and-comers to see if they can make things right. It's a low risk move and it helps get rid of some of the local riff-raff.

Or -- you can be Joe Blow who wakes up one day to realize you're the God of Death (sorta like Louise Cooper's Initiate series --which I won't spoil further if you haven't read it).

Thoughts? preferences? what kind of god/goddess are you thinking about playing. how did your character arrive where they are, in your mind?

A couple questions while I consider the ones you pose.

1. What's our setting? The setting of Numenera or The Strange? Our modern world? Generic fantasy?

2. Mechanically speaking, can we use material from both Numenera and The Strange?

Gods of the Fall is a different setting to Numenera or the Strange I think types are different compared to Numenera, the Strange, and Cypher System as well. I'd have to see about the last part from the book but I think that might fall into Falryx's question of what we'd like to play.

Some of the mechanics overlap some things wouldn't (Translation abilities wouldn't be used for example), there's also new foci, racial descriptors and new normal descriptors.

As for my answers Flaryx I'll need to crack the book open and figure some things out but I'm up for your suggests or up and coming young gods that are given a challenge as a last ditch hope or possibly a punishment or power play.

Oh, I didn't know Gods of the Fall was its own actual thing! In that case, I might actually back out, not sure if I want to pick up a whole new system right now.

I know about Gods of the Fall. I'm actually a veteran DM of Numenera and have backed every cypher system kickstarter. I'm staying. Just trying to decide on a character. I like the idea of a mortal that is up and coming, and is semi-aware of his role as a new god. However, he has no idea what a god's perspective is and has no idea how to go about it. He may know he's the god of justice in action but he thinks that means righting wrongs when it might mean maintaining the current order of things, including the weather, rather than just society.

I like the idea of being a God of passage of time, either in how things are constant or how things always change. Although there are many, many, many options for me. I would ask if there is a particular place in the setting we would start so I can at least know about that location without reading the whole rulebook cover to cover.

Hey DR - the system isn't different from anything standard in the Cypher System. It uses power shifts (once you get to second tier) and some 'domain' or divine elements that are slightly different/additional -- but ultimately it's the same system as Numenera, just a differing setting. I'll put some resource links elsewhere in a thread for your review. Think of this as Numenera-esque with magic, rather than nano-tech/numenera and the players are gods-in-training and gain some of the benefits -- and obligations -- as a result.

If you opt to back out, I'll totally respect it, but if you're interested in Cypher System, this won't be much different, I don't think. It's largely a setting issue.

I need to re-read the intro adventure to see if I like it. If so, Corso would be the starting point. Elsewhere is potentially a good spot to start, but would be more dependent on the origin story (or stories) we're sticking with. In the Nightlands, however, generally seems like the right starting place.

From the source book, here's the key types:


Champion ("lord of combat") - god of War, Bloodshed or Justice
Shaper ("You master magical abilities outside the experience, understand and conception of others.") - A god of Fire, of the Sea, of the Storm, of Secrets...
Destroyer ("You fearlessly face the unknown, sometimes for the mere joy of exploring exotic places and discovering new things, other times to bring down quarry or acquire something valuable.") - Paragon of the Hunt, Stealth or Night.
Savior ("You soothe souls with words and deeds.") - God of Health, Healing, Wealth or Cities (or Lies, Rebellion and Riot...)

Descriptors

New:
- Beneficent
- Chaotic
- Gluttinous
- Humble
- Lawful
- Wary
- Sleen (racial)
- Taran (racial)

Other descriptors from the core rulebook are likely fine (likely ditto Numenera or the Strange, but let's discuss if you want!).

Foci:


...generally Fantasy genre or some Superhero genre Foci.

Abides in Stone
Awakens Dreams
Bears a Halo of Fire
Blazes With Radiance
Builds Robots
Carries a Quiver
Casts Spells
Channels Divine Blessings
Commands Mental Powers
Consorts With the Dead
Controls Beasts
Controls Gravity
Crafts Illusions
Crafts Unique Objects
Defends the Weak
Employs Magnetism
Entertains
Exists in Two Places at Once
Exists Partially Out of Phase
Explores Dark Places
Explores Deep Waters
Fights Dirty
Fights With Panache
Finds the Flaw in All Things*
Focuses Mind Over Matter
Fuses Flesh and Steel
Grows to Towering Heights
Howls at the Moon
Hunts Nonhumans
Hunts Outcasts
Hunts With Great Skill
Infiltrates
Leads
Lives in the Wilderness
Looks for Trouble
Masters Defense
Masters the Swarm
Masters Weaponry
Metes Out Justice
Moves Like a Cat
Murders
Needs No Weapon
Never Says Die
Operates Undercover
Performs Feats of Strength
Rages
Revels in Trickery*
Rides the Lightning
Sees Beyond
Separates Mind From Body
Shepherds Spirits
Siphons Power
Slays Monsters
Solves Mysteries
Speaks Curses*
Speaks for the Land
Stands Like a Bastion
Throws With Deadly Accuracy
Travels Through Time
Walks With the Night*
Wears a Sheen of Ice
Wields Two Weapons at Once
Works Miracles
Works the Back Alleys

* == new to the Gods of the Fall book.

Additionally, GOTF characters have a "Dominion":

"Ironically, a PC’s initial choice of dominion is the most telling thing about them, while at the same time being the most ephemeral, especially as their dominion relates to game mechanics. The PC’s chosen dominion informs their dogma (their tier 3 Obligation), informs the dominion benefits they choose (starting at second tier), and even more important, might guide them when they decide their type, focus, and descriptor. For instance, if they decide to be a god of Fire prior to making any other choice about their character, it could lead them to choose the Bears a Halo of Fire focus."

I have a table, if anyone is looking for ideas who doesn't have the source book.

To more explicitly answer these questions:
We're in the Afterworld, the setting of the Gods of the Fall sourcebook. I've put some intro text into another thread in the forums. The key thing to think about it is that it's a single continent on the planet. It's pretty "generic fantasy" with the following caveats:

Heaven, literally, fell to earth 40 years ago and wiped out scads of people and the most prominent kingdom. It's left behind a crazy storm and a fractured landscape that has provided access to layers of prior civilizations -- upon which this current world is built (the Deeps).

Beyond the Ruinscape (where Elanehtar fell) is: The Verge -- a wild area peopled largely by orcs and their kin. A rough place. And the Nightlands -- a portion of the continent which is in perpetual shadow/darkness -- with the sun (Avi) eclipsed by the moon 'Nod' that is perfectly positioned above the Nightlands. Think of this as the fantasy version of something dystopian like Bladerunner. It's pretty bleak. If you've got power and money you can basically do what you want. Feel like torturing some poor soul? Pay your indulgence and you're within the law to do so. Ditto with murder, etc. The afterlife -- Soulrest -- is completely mucked up too. With the passing of the gods, the beast that guarded the entrance to Soulrest has gone off half cocked and spends its time devouring souls. Those who don't get eaten get pressed into eternal servitude to some twisted remnant of the gods. It's all pretty bleak.

In short -- it's a world in dire need of some gods. Except no one believes that the gods can/will come back. Or if they do, they need a stern talking to. Or, perhaps they need to be killed because they threaten the new order that the people in power enjoy. It's not an easy place to be a godling without a ton of power....
Mechanically, the best bet is stuff from the core Cypher System book (fantasy, some superhero stuff). But I'm happy to talk through anything in Numenera or the Strange as anyone sees fit. I have Numenera, but I do not have The Strange.

I'm reading through the setting book. I can have a character made soon sometime this week.

Ditto what WP said. I'm familiar with Numenera but need to get up to speed with GoTF. Hope to have something up this weekend.

No rush!

I'll post a calendar -- but I expect over the next week to 10 days we'll be tidying up backstory a bit and getting the framing for the start of the campaign -- but that we won't begin in earnest until the 29th (after I'm back from vacation).

Random seeded character creation method got me Roejk the Brash Shaper who Revels in Trickery. Need to pick specifics but to me it sounds like Loki.

I chuckle at the thought of Remnant-playing-Loki and fear for my sanity. :)

*taps the pads of his fingers together and smiles*
Roejk won't be that bad, he seems like a weaker Pha R'tet if he was more aware and sneaky... you might call it devious.

(EDIT: For an expensive item I was looking for a walking stick that looks like a snake that can coil about Roejk like a scarf)

So I randomly rolled for a dominion and got Thievery, but I'm thinking of rolling again. My second roll was Night. Thievery might be a bit too close to Remnant's character.

Screw it, I'm making a character I like and then choosing the appropriate dominion.

And Dikaios is ready.

I was actually thinking of taking Secrets. I would never purposely steal something...

Business travel ending today, I should be in better shape to pick things up again a bit tomorrow!

OK.. I approved both characters. WP - I marked your skills as 'trained' (since I think they are) -- push back if you think they shouldn't be marked as trained.

WP and Remnant -- do you have a thought on how your divine nimbus manifests itself?

Sorry for the delay guys. I've been reading through the rule book today and started on a character. I'm going to go with a Savior to round out the team. I should have something up by tomorrow afternoon.

No worries! I'm not in any hurry and looking to pick up a fourth if we can. Not sure it'll happen though.

We have a new player joining us (WarDomo). I'm not sure if he has any Cypher experience or access to the Gods of the Fall material (none of which are required, imho). Domo -- let us know what knowledge/materials you have and if it's 'none' that's A-OK. We'll work through character creation with you!

(please feel free to lend a hand, team, in case I'm slower on the uptake!)

I have absolutely zero experience, but I do have a character concept, I'll get up to speed on the rules soon.

So basically I'm a God of disease, and naturally get a bad rap. The truth is that his purpose is one of the greater good. He saves humanity from itself. Population control, poor hygiene, high risk behaviors, he limits these things. Kill thousands to save millions...that kind of thing.

I want to say that he is very aware of his purpose and power, but has to contend with everyone else's perception of him.

.....Nurgle?

Googled: war hammer 40k plague God? I've never read anything about that lore. Seems close to what I was thinking but really wanted to play up the greater good part of that. Like the moral dilemma aspect. Kill some to save others.

I'm playing a god of justice who defends the week. Don't know how that will go with a God who kills, even if passively.

Two sides of the same coin if you squint a bit. Does justice not involve killing or harming one group to spare another?

Not necessarily. It involves having everything in its right place. It's about logic as much as it is about compassion.

Thing is the setting already lends itself to a grey morality (it's a world where the gods are dead and there is no hope for an afterlife, so whatever you do has no moral bearing beyond existential and immediate reasons). I wanted my character to represent the hope that justice and goodness will return to the world, even if other not so good things are coming back as well.

Okay. Whatever. I'll be God of birds or something else. What books do I need to play? Seems like gods of the fall is a sourcebook. Do I need a cypher system book or the numanera book or something?

Cypher System Rulebook. But character creation is actually pretty simple. This post kind of explains your options. Your character creation is forming a sentence with an adjective, noun who verbs. For example, my character is a Beneficent Champion who Defends the Weak. His descriptor is "Beneficent," his type is "Champion," and his focus is "Defends the Weak." You also choose a dominion. My character's is Justice (or at the very least, hope for justice).

Of the four character types they kind of correspond to DnD archetypes. Champions are warriors, Destroyers are skill based like rogues and are good ranged characters, Shapers are like spell casters, while Saviors are the charismatic characters that act like the mouth of the party.

For a list of descriptors from the core rulebook are as follows:

Appealing
Brash
Calm
Charming
Clever
Clumsy
Craven
Creative
Cruel
Dishonorable
Doomed
Driven
Empathic
Exiled
Fast
Foolish
Graceful
Guarded
Hardy
Hideous
Honorable
Impulsive
Inquisitive
Intelligent
Jovial
Kind
Learned
Lucky
Mad
Mechanical
Mysterious
Mystical
Naive
Noble
Perceptive
Resilient
Rugged
Sharp-Eyed
Skeptical
Spiritual
Stealthy
Strong
Strong-Willed
Swift
Tongue-Tied
Tough
Vengeful
Virtuous
Wealthy
Weird

I don't think you have to swing to be the God of the Birds.. ;)

Right now we have a trickster and a god of the meek, for lack of a better name. Of righteous justice rather than unfeeling justice. I think with disease we could probably find a way to make it work -- note that disease doesn't necessarily just target the weak or the downtrodden -- it can fell corrupt regimes as well (which may be righteous and just). It may be reasonable, especially if it's aspected (I made up that word) around the cycle of life, rather than just causing misery.

That said, it is important that y'all find something you like that can reasonably mesh together -- pantheons always have conflict, but for a group of 4 of you, it'd be best if the conflict was external to your group rather than internal to it. It's a pretty open field -- and I think there's a lot that will slot in nicely with a trickster and a righteous justice god.

I didn't mean to suggest WarDomo shouldn't play a god of disease. I was just wondering how that would work. It can still work nonetheless though. I'm looking forward to the game no matter the amount or kind of inter-party conflict.

Maybe I wasn't clear earlier. The idea was disease as a vector for enforcing natural order which I think fits in rather well... It even fits as Destroyer which we don't have yet. As falryx was saying, disease is indiscriminate it affects the rich, the poor, the weak, the strong, etc. Do the right things and generally you're fine...wash your hands, eat right (for mundane things), but it wouldn't take much to think up ways that disease would limit other things that if left unchecked would be detrimental to humanity.

That being said...disease tends to be a blunt instrument and often has collateral damage. :)

OK, I think I have a character ready to work with, Dimitri. He's a humble savior who finds the flaws in all things and has dominion over wisdom. Some of it was randomly rolled and then other pieces I finagled a bit to make the character make sense. I was thinking that a god of wisdom would be humble because he would be acutely aware of weakness and shortcomings in both others and himself. I think Dimitri's ability to find flaws is helpful for persuasion but also keeps him from speaking too much because he tries not to offend others. I think that he could mesh pretty well with all of the existing characters, particularly justice, and I could imagine a nice back and forth with the trickster trying to one up each other.

In regards to the earlier discussion about God of Disease, I think that sounds like a great concept, and I see your point about two sides of the same coin if you squint the right way.

I don't have the cypher system book, so if you guys think I put together anything incorrectly, let me know. I tried to stick to what was in the GotF book for character creation.

Seems interesting!

Remnant and WP -- Kristofer doesn't have the CRB -- so he may have some questions. Please feel free to jump in and help answer them. Additionally, WarDomo doesn't have the GOTF sourcebook, so he'd like a little help pulling together his character. I'm going to do what I can, naturally, but given the nature of PbP, community aid is welcomed!

Enthrall (1 Intellect point) - While talking, you grab and keep another creature's attention, even if the creature can't understand you. For as long as you do nothing but speak (you can't even move), the other creature takes no actions other than to defend itself, even over multiple rounds. If the creature is attacked, the effect ends. Action.

Mental Link (1+ Intellect points) - You open a pathway to another creature's mind via a light touch, which allows you to transmit thoughts and images to each other. The mental link remains regardless of distance and lasts for one hour. Instead of applying Effort to decrease the difficulty of this ability, you can extend the duration by one hour for each level of Effort applied. Action to initiate.

Fast Talk (1 Intellect point) - When speaking with an intelligent creature who can understand you and isn't hostile, you convince that creature to take one reasonable action in the next round. A reasonable action must be agreed upon by the GM; it should not put the creature or its allies in obvious danger or be wildly out of character. Action.

Erase Memories (3 Intellect points) - You reach into the mind of a creature within immediate range and make an Intellect roll. On a success, you erase up to the last five minutes of its memory. Action.

Background Connection -- WarDomo, please roll 1d20 if you want a random background connection. Or let me know if you'd like to pick one from the list (there are 20) and I'll type 'em out in a note to you.

Note: the Destroyer is constructed primarily from the Explorer in the core system (if you have the CRB).

Stat Pools:
- Might: 10
- Speed: 9
- Intellect: 9

-- you have 6 additional points to divide among your stat Pools however you wish.* All destroyers have the Stealth Skills ability
* Choose 3 Abilities in addition from this list: (I'll give a quick description - for any you choose I'll provide more detail)

- Block - you automatically block the next melee attack made against you within the next minute (takes an action to initiate)
- Danger Sense - you roll better initiative rolls.
- Decipher - if you spend some time examining some writing in a language you don't understand you might be able to get the gist of it with a roll.
- Extra Edge - you have a might edge of 1 and a speed edge of 1 (edge is used to reduce the cost of effort, or the cost of activating an ability)
- Fleet of Foot - if you succeed at a difficulty 2 speed roll, you can move a short distance and tak an action in the same round.
- Physical Skills - you are trained in a couple physical activity skills (there's a list). training in a skill reduces the difficulty of actions related to that skill (e.g. jumping, running, swimming).
- Practiced in Armor - you can use armor and reduce the penalties (armor typically incurs a speed penalty), this reduces it (but may not remove it on heavy armors)
- Practiced with All Weapons - you can use any weapons.
- Surging Confidence - when you use an action for your first recovery roll (it regenerates your stat pool) of the day, you get an immediate action.
- Trained Without Armor - basically, when you aren't wearing armor, you're better at speed-related defense actions.
- Erase Memories - detailed in my post above to kristofer
- Goad - improved speed defense rolls against a successfully attacked creature
- Overwatch - use a ranged weapon to make an attack that enters a specified (limited) area with some advantages
- Pierce - well-aimed penetrating attack, +1 damage
- Quick Draw - after using a thrown light weapon, you draw another weapon and make another thrown attack
- Spin Identity - basically you can convince people you are someone other than you are.
- Travel Skills - you are trained in two skills in which you are not already trained related to travel. Skills training helps lower the difficulty of rolls related to those skills.Hideous - means you are physically repugnant by almost any human standard. To make up for this you've got sneaking/disguising bonuses. Specifically:

- Versatile: you get 4 additional points to divide among your stat Pools
- You are trained in intimidation and any other fear-based interactions (skill)
- You are trained in disguise and steal tasks
- The difficulty of all tasks relating to pleasant social interaction is increased by one step.Siphons Power

Hrm. In reviewing this there's a definite 'machine' component to this as well as the living energy side.

A couple of quick thoughts about the Hideous Destroyer--I think disease works well with thematically the mechanics of the destroyer. Disease is sneaky and can come up and attack you even when you try to prepare for it. Character wise, I think Dimitri would not have a hard time grouping up with Disease. Not that he would necessarily like Disease, but that he would see the necessity and balance of it--the frailty of the body makes it something to be appreciated, even admired and cultivated. I don't imagine there would be much intraparty conflict with Dimitri and the others, but I think he would definitely be happy to step in and try to smoothe things over if it came up. Admittedly he probably has a hard time not pointing out flaws that make people angry, so maybe that wouldn't go well for him either.

Wow. Thanks! I could pick something other than siphons power. It just sounded right. I was also considering infiltrates which could make some sense too.

I'll try to work on the rest of the character today.

I will also look at foci and see if there is a good match...

Dude... kristofer... I just took a peek at your character and I was totally going to take Erase Memories and carry a whip! Great minds, eh? Switching it up for something else

I snagged a copy of the Cypher System Book. Looking at it more, I think I'm going with Infiltrates as my Foci. Here's what I've got so far, Vendax

How does domain come into play?

Hah, great minds indeed! If you're really attached to either the whip or the ability I'm happy to switch things around. I tried to take a look at Vendax but it says no character found. I think maybe you have to click on the folder icon to add it to the library?

Oh. I think I fixed that now.

I wasn't that attached to either. Decided to make my guy more of a ranged combatant instead (poison-tipped darts and bolts anyone?)

Not exactly sure how the backgrounds thing works.

Forgot to roll the background. Here you go.

Hi all, Michael here.

I am a total noobie at this platform and Play by Post in general, but I am very familiar with the Cypher System, Numenera, GotF, and many other games. My favorites are Cypher, Numenera, and Shadow of the Demon Lord.

I hear everyone has all bases pretty much covered, so I will probably play a fighter/protector type who wants to help people... Basically me IRF, but whatever... lol

So I am working right now, but I will get to making a character asap!

Welcome aboard, Michael. I'm new to PbP as well, so we can bumble forward together. Looking forward to seeing your character.

Welcome Mike!

Welcome! I'm new to PbP and Gotf.

So as far as back story goes... Did we ever determine if we are from Afterworld or coming to it from elsewhere?

Traveling on work tomorrow. Next update from me may be Friday am.

I think WPs background is as a former godling who has forgotten himself. Perhaps he was on Nod during the Fall or something else protected him. Remnant was cool with being a godly immigrant -- and the two backgrounds can easily work together if we like. Speaking of backgrounds WD a 17 is "your parents were cruel and sadistic and despite their influential positions you fled home at an early age"

Hmmm. That can tie into a godly immigrant story well if you want. Very flexible on how much you do or do not know your god hood.

Lastly, welcome Michael! We have the following in our fledgling pantheon:

- a God of trickery
- a god of righteous justice (I get that right WP?)
- a god of wisdom
- a god of disease

I would say he's a God for hope in justice,but yes.

Okay...so I'm thinking that I am the rebellious progeny of the old gods of Death and War. With cold, cruel support for their dominions they didn't care about the long-term consequences. There will always be more of the mortals, right?

I often entreated them to use their influence to serve the mortals rather than treat them as play things, but my pleas fell on deaf ears. One day they grew tired of my insolence and cursed me with a hideous visage that reflected my dominion....then came the Fall.

I awoke in Afterworld (somewhere that makes sense for the campaign) and have just been trying to get by.

Open to feedback that helps this fit better in the setting

I like it. My character has no memory (at first) of his fall though so I'm leaving it a mystery for now. I'd have him raised by normal humans.

With your idea though, what happened to his parents? The gods are dead. Did they die or does he not know?

I wouldn't know, but assume that they died.

I am thinking of making a god of light or hope or something positive like that...

I finally figured out how to subscribe to this forum, so I should be able to see the posts easily.

Sounds reasonable. If I were to nudge, I'd nudge away from 'hope' since WP sort of has that covered in a way. "light" or "sun" could be an interesting aspect. Something sort of "good aspected" is a completely reasonable way to go. As a sun god, I could imagine being REALLY pissed off about the Nightlands at some point (perhaps even as a 'light' god too).

Quick heads up to all players -- I'm headed out on vacation Sunday - Friday. I intend to connect from time to time, but realistically, priority #1 will be trying to relax and have a good time with the family.

Hope for Justice is a bit more specific. I could just change that to justice itself.

I've been studying some of the various pantheons out there -- and it seems not uncommon for a godly aspect to cover a variety of similar domains. As a result, you can imagine eventually being both the god of justice and of hope (and hope for justice) because of the way they tie together.

True, but I don't want to take away from Mike's concept at all unless we're crossing over a bit.

In the theology of Exalted, heaven is structured like a giant bureaucracy and lesser gods can get promoted and take on larger or more abstract versions of portfolios. Like the Southern God of War began as a god of cattle, but was promoted for a variety of reasons, one of which being the sheer amount of battles over resources like cattle in that region. Could be misremembering the specifics there, but the concept is still interesting.

Fair enough WP -- just wanting to be cautious about potential character growth and overlap too. :)

I'd daresay that overlap can create synergy. I haven't really been able to work on it anyway. Also, as soon as I typed that, I suddenly got other wacky concepts in my head.

For instance, what might be the divine domain of a telekinetic wizard type? Beats me, but I like the focus...

Can someone explain where the dominion comes into play?

Hey there -- had a couple busy days getting ready to fly to Hawaii for some vacation. I'm on holiday from 8/21 - 8/26. That said, I will have my iPad with me, so you probably will get some updates, just at weirder times since I'll be living 3 hours in the past.

Well, michael, I could imagine that being a domain of Knowledge (Wizardry), Magic (Wizardry) or perhaps "Force" (telekinesis). In the latter case, we'd view it perhaps as 'gravity' in our enlightened state as players. But power over gravity would surely seem magical in the Afterworld and sufficiently significant power would definitely appear godly.

WarDomo: the way I read it (and others please chime in if you feel more detail is helpful or think it means something different!) is that the dominion impacts some of what you do at higher tiers and it helps provide additional descriptor-like color to your character. E.g. You probably wouldn't pick a God of Fire who has the focus "wears a sheen of ice". The book specifically says:

"Ironically, a PC's initial choice of dominion is the most telling thing about them, while at the same time being the most ephemeral, especially as their dominion relates to game mechanics. The PC's chosen dominion informs their dogma (their tier 3 Obligation Ed. Note: I think they mean tier 4), informs the dominion benefits they choose (starting at second tier), and even more important, might guide them when they decide their type,focus, and descriptor."

It goes on to say...

"A character's dominion is a journey, not a destination. Selecting it means it's where the PC would like to take their character eventually, but it might not be where they end up. For example, they might begin thinking they're a god of Travel, but end up being a god of Lost Causes."

It goes on to identify that there's no one parcelling out dominions in the firmament, so you can change your mind as you progress/play and as things happen to your character. Imagine, for example, your character being healed of his hideousness and perhaps shown some other path or given some other opportunity -- he could become a god of healing. Or he could prefer the cleansing qualities of a good godly fire and migrate to be the God of Fire. etc. etc.

Short version - mechanically, I think a Dominion is mostly flavor. You'll use it to craft your story, embellish your divine abilities (e.g. Your nimbus might be specific to your dominion), and to guide you on the campaign choices you make. A god of War isn't like to try and fulfill a prophecy of love, as an example.

Does that help?

I guess I understand that and it matches other stuff I had read, but I just thought I was missing something. Seems like an odd choice that in a game where you play a God it really doesn't come into play mechanically at least not until later.

War Domo -- do you have a sense of your divinity? Do you think you're special in any way? Or is your divinity something unknown to you (as it is with WP)?

I think mechanically making this work would be hard given all the variations on gods that could exist. I can imagine a rule set to handle a god of disease AND a god of fire AND a god of hope to be hideously overburdened. Instead, I think we get some generic mechanics that you can apply using your domain to flavor your decisions. For example, when you get divine shifts, you're more likely to put them into something that relates to your domain and how it manifests itself in your skills and attributes than in something else. A god of fire might put them in raising Onslaught or something to have particularly nasty fireballs.. That sorta thing.

I was thinking I'm aware of it.

I posted my backstory thoughts over here. Not sure how well it fits in the setting though. Open to suggestions.

Yup - read the backstory but wasn't sure if you were aware of the history now that you're on the Afterworld or not. Totally cool with you being in the know. As I start to pull something together, I just wanted to make sure I didn't make assumptions.

@Michael -- checking in -- you doing ok?

Hi Fairyx,

Sorry I haven't gotten a character done yet. I have been pretty swamped. I will try to whip something up this weekend. Is that ok? What's my deadline?

This weekend is a-ok. Timing isn't super critical -- if you're swamped I'd rather not put too much pressure on. I can get rolling with the other three and add you in? Or if you'll be sorted this weekend, I can wait 'til ~Monday or ~Tuesday to get rolling. Either way.

WarDomo - can you submit your character to I can accept him into the game? with that done, I think we'll have enough we can get rolling and I can add in Michael when he's ready.

I am swamped. I haven't gotten it done yet. Sorry about that. Kids and work are piled around me. I will try to start soon. Where will the action be anyway?

I'll submit later tonight

Thanks WarDomo -- accepted.

Does anyone want an external review of their character to make sure everything is copasetic? I'll probably kick off something later this week when I have a bit more time (having just returned from vacation, my work calendar is nearly 8 hours of conference calls for the through tomorrow everyday -- so my spare time has been at a premium).

Michael -- I hadn't quite decided. It seems like Corso is an obvious place to start -- since it's pretty much the center of the world with respect to goings on on that particular continent.

Kristofer -- checking in -- do you think your character is aware of his (or her) divine nature or not?

I wouldn't mind getting a second set of eyes on my character by someone more familiar with the system

I finished Mykul Kuyen, a Hideous Champion who Slays Monsters. Dominion will be something like obstacles or overcoming despair. Backstory so far is his parents and family were slain by a Greater Raver for whatever reason, leaving him scarred and alone. His love interest (the maiden Xueza) was also taken by monsters that day never to be seen again.

Did I select enough abilities? I thought I could only pick one...

Edit: I see I did not. going to go pick more...

Edit 2: OK I think I have him fixed. Not sure if I have any modifiers to my attacks though.

Edit 3: I see someone else is already hideous, so I am gonna change that. Hardy it is!

Thanks -- I'll take a quick pass through characters tomorrow (Friday) or Saturday and then get this ship kicked off.

Falryx, my character is unaware of his divine nature, but he is starting to suspect that something is off.

Thanks -- sorry for the delay getting stuff kicked off. Labor Day weekend wound up meaning more goofing off and less gamers plane.

Looking through characters now. Note that I'm not a particular adept Cypher system person, so mostly I'm looking for obvious things that seem hosed (if anything).

Ok. Reviewing characters:

michaelk579 - I didn't see anything to modify. Other than I know you are "practiced" with a sword. But I'm not completely certain what that means. I see "trained" comes at Tier 3.

kristofer - I think you get the tier 1 "Perfect Submission" as a result of your focus of Finds the Flaws in all Things. You may want to also put your Cautious either as an Special Ability -- or as a skill (Intellect Defense).

WarDomo - click on the circle next to intimidation for 'prof' to get a T (for trained). ditto for disguise and stealth. also, update 'steal' to 'stealth'. In fact, I think stealth should be P for proficient, because you get it from both your Destroyer and from Hideous.

WanderingPenitent - please click on the Prof circle for social interaction so it indicated Trained (T). Please note your Inability somewhere on your sheet -- other folks have used the notes for this. I didn't notice if you'd put it somewhere on the sheet or not. I don't see Courageous indicated on your sheet. Am I missing it?

Remnant - I think everything looks good. I recall Shapers have expert cipher use, but I didn't see that. Can you remind me where to find that so I can make sure I'm not being a dufus for someone else?

Cyphers:

Mykul -
-- A small potion of antivenom that glows dully in the pitch dark. Level 6. Renders user immune to poisons of the same level or lower for some time.
-- A very small, carved wooden door. When it opens you may teleport anywhere up to 600 feet away with your possessions. (level 6).

Dmitri -
-- A pendant that offers: Beneficence (lvl 6). Up to 3 selected targets within short range regain 6 points to their Pools.
-- A small rock, that when crushed restores 4 points to your Might Pool (level 4).

Vendax -
-- A crystal carved in the shape of a die (Level 3). It provides a level of effort to any non-combat task without requiring you spend points from your Pool. It does not count towards your maximum effort.
-- A pewter belt buckle in the shape of a shield. When activated it reduces your Might Defense rolls by 3 steps. Once activated this applies to the next 6 Might Defense rolls within 24 hours. (level 6)

Dikaios -
-- A small, crudely carved wooden horse figurine (level 7). When used it enables you to teleport anywhere on the Afterworld you have previously been to with your possessions.
-- A wand (level 5) that allows you to project a ray of destructive energy up to 200 feet that inflicts 5 Intellect damage and stuns the victim for 5 rounds.

Reojk -
-- A dull crystal shard that offers Divine Elevation (Level 3). Any taget, even an object, gains two divine shifts for one minute.
-- A small woven circle (level 4) enables you to send a one-way psychic message to anyone you know of up to 10 words with unlimited range.
-- A vial that swirls in various colors (level 5). When broken any time you strike a solid creature or object with a weapon or your fist, a burst of energy teleports it an immediate distance in a random direction. Once teleported its next action is one step more difficult.

I'll fix my character as soon as I can.

Practiced just means use without penalty. Did I say trained? I'll check and fix.

nope, you said practiced! I just wasn't sure what it was. :)

And my character is edited with cyphers listed.

i wasn't either honestly!

I think y'all need to set up your connections with one another -- I saw some of them listed out in the sheets, but you should pick the character(s) in question?

Okay, I think I've updated my character correctly and added the Cyphers

How many Darts do you think I would have reasonably... It didn't list the amount in the equipment section. Also, traded two expensive items for two moderately priced, because I didn't want anything listed as Expensive. Assumed that would be okay.

Good question on the darts -- I'd be inclined to say "enough"; unless you wanted to get into inventory management. Not so many that you could tackle 100 unruly citizens in Corso, but you know.. Enough for an encounter, especially if you had time to recover them or some down time to rebuild your arsenal.

If you'd prefer a real number to work from, if this is a key component of your arsenal -- let's talk about what / how you'd be storing them and making them available and we can do some reasoning about available space.

I'm perfectly fine with enough and will try not to abuse it.