hooligan x Posted February 26, 2005 Report Share Posted February 26, 2005 How many points should God be based on? Ok, so not God, but a lower-case "g" god from Mesopotamia. You know the type that pissed off Yaweh in the Old Testament? The goat-burning, baby-smashing, graven image war god type. One of my PCs is infused with the power and spirit of a cradle of civilization demigod hero type. I'd like a member of his dad's family to show up and be a nuisance (leaving wet towels on the floor, drinking the last Pepsi, spreading war and disease across the land...) I think he would have less points in modern day because he has less worshipers, but he should still be unfazed by my PCs biggest guns. Any thoughts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike W Posted February 26, 2005 Report Share Posted February 26, 2005 Re: Power level for God Depends on the level of the campaign. If you take the top end line for mortals and add about 20 points across the board and make it all 0 END, you'll be in business. It doesn't sound like much, but 4 magnitudes(1 magnitude=1 CV level or 1 DC of damage) is actually a HUGE amount. After all, that extra 4d6 of damage is another 14 points - all of which should be going through their defenses if you base it on the top end mortals. Similarly, another 10-15 points of DEF(or some damage reduction) can soak a TON of damage. Just make sure not to skimp on the "little" defenses like Life Support, Mental Defense, Power Defense, and Flash Def. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue Posted February 26, 2005 Report Share Posted February 26, 2005 Re: Power level for God Funny you should ask. I'm built on more points than you can possibly count. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saxondog Posted February 26, 2005 Report Share Posted February 26, 2005 Re: Power level for God I agree. It depends on power level. Take the gods of the Norse, c800. A viking champion with a str 18, dex 15, con 18, spd 3 and several levels of melee combat. Say a total of 75 points. Add chainmail and a broad-axe. Now, a man with 40 str, 25 dex, 20 con, and spd 5 is a god. Thor could be built for under 250 points. In a world of normals....it doesn't take much to be a god. Point wise anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
megaplayboy Posted February 26, 2005 Report Share Posted February 26, 2005 Re: Power level for God If it's someone who can take on a whole team of PCs, then 20-40 active points above their level is appropriate. If you want someone nigh-omnipotent, 40-60 active points above PC level will create that impression. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doppler Posted February 26, 2005 Report Share Posted February 26, 2005 Re: Power level for God I think you ough tto give him Magescale Swinging, that power is just broken. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Hiemforth Posted February 26, 2005 Report Share Posted February 26, 2005 Re: Power level for God he should still be unfazed by my PCs biggest guns. Any thoughts?There you go; you just answered your own question. You just said he should be "unfazed by my PCs biggest guns." If you stat out the god in any way, then you're making it possible for the PCs to fight and defeat him. If that isn't what you want, if he's just supposed to be a plot device, then just use him as a plot device. No points; no writeup. He does whatever you want him to do... he's a GM avatar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
megaplayboy Posted February 26, 2005 Report Share Posted February 26, 2005 Re: Power level for God There you go; you just answered your own question. You just said he should be "unfazed by my PCs biggest guns." If you stat out the god in any way' date=' then you're making it possible for the PCs to fight and defeat him. If that isn't what you want, if he's just supposed to be a plot device, then just use him as a plot device. No points; no writeup. He does whatever you want him to do... he's a GM avatar. [/quote'] Calculate out the max damage from the flying brick's diving move-through, and from the energy projector's RKA(haymakered and pushed), and set the god's defenses to that number. Set the attacks to knock out the toughest Pc with one shot. Harden as necessary. Put in oven at 450 for 40 minutes, take out, and let cool until game time Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. MID-Nite Posted February 26, 2005 Report Share Posted February 26, 2005 Re: Power level for God Really....it just depends on what you want the god to do. If his sole purpose is to show how ineffectual the PCs are next to him, then no stats are needed. If you want an honest writeup of a god who'll actually see combat, then I'd say this....damage reduction is your friend. Gods usually have stats far above a "regular" person(though not necessarily the 30+ considered superhuman these days). Generally, gods have good PRE and at least passable EGO(if only out of pure arrogant stubborness). Most have superhuman strength as well. Add in powers appropriate to their area of influence and a small variable power pool for random divine feats and call it a day. Rob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Powerhouse Posted February 26, 2005 Report Share Posted February 26, 2005 Re: Power level for God Try a HUGE VPP with the advantage (always has GM permission) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susano Posted February 26, 2005 Report Share Posted February 26, 2005 Re: Power level for God Just use the current Dr. Destroyer. Or anyone from GALACTIC CHAMPIONS. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Blue Posted February 26, 2005 Report Share Posted February 26, 2005 Re: Power level for God Have you decided what god you want and what he does? The storm god Enlil is hard to top in my opinion: he'll be everything you want, without a lot of complications you don't want. "The goat-burning, baby-smashing, graven image war god type." Close enough, you won't do better. Originally Ani, a calm sky-god (god of the heavens), was ruler of the gods, not by violence but by an innate divine authority recognised by everyone in the parliament of the gods. People just didn't talk back to the sky god. After slaying a demon that did talk back, Enlil, god of storms and berserk violence, decided that since he was supreme in brute force, he should be king too. Since he was doing so much of the indispensible head-smashing stuff, the other gods decided to recognise his claim. And so it is to this day. The Sumerian gods continue to be a well-organised polity (though they have long since fallen in the relative standings), but with a lot less of that "we all agree" stuff and a lot more "because Enlil says so!" Sound like the kind of god you're looking for? Enlil also gets to be the god of water and wisdom - but for what you want, I suggest you just ignore that. There a chapter in Before Philosophy: The Intellectual Adventure of Ancient Man by Henri Frankfort (also published under other titles) that makes a superb introduction to the politics of the gods of interest to you. You might see if your local library can get it on a loan for you. At least glance at the Amazon review, which makes one of the essential points: the ancients took everything personally, including storms, floods and the growth of crops. A Sumerian god is going to be like that too. "Don't take this personally" is going to get you absolutely nowhere with him, and he will not recognise any "higher authority" in whose name he should suffer annoyance meekly. For everything down to who gets the last Pepsi in the fridge, the issue will not be "how things are done in general" but whether Enlil gets shorted or whether someone else gets shorted, and Enlil will not be the one who gets shorted. Points? You don't need no stinking points. The limitation on Enlil is that you can lobby other gods in your favour. Enili is at the top of the divine state, he's not outside and above it, and he will listen to what "everyone" is saying if you make a good impression and word gets around. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dino Posted February 26, 2005 Report Share Posted February 26, 2005 Re: Power level for God How many points should God be based on? About a hundred less points than Batman is written up on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
APE Posted February 26, 2005 Report Share Posted February 26, 2005 Re: Power level for God Try a HUGE VPP with the advantage (always has GM permission) I'd say thats a +4 advantage to the control cost. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lupus Posted February 27, 2005 Report Share Posted February 27, 2005 Re: Power level for God Ask yourself why you want stats. If it's for fun, then just make 'em up as seems fun. If you want to know what the god can get away with doing, then you need to figure that out for yourself (perhaps with the help of stats, but you need to put in work yourself). So: how powerful do you want him? Do you want him to be able to appear in the physical world? If so, should he be able to defeat entire armies on his own? Are there any creatures in the world that could potentially harm him (big dragons, etc)? Is he totally invulnerable, or can he be whittled down to size (massive BODY, 75% DR)? Is he primarily inspirational - massive PRE, and characteristics/CSLs usable by other (x10,000)? Is his power boosted by sacrifices (AID array, OAF Priest)? Is he human scale, or can he grow to massive size and devour enemies en masse (see Mahabarata for inspiration)? Ultimately, are they invincible, or can they be beaten? Can mortals rise to such lofty heights that they can fight gods? Can the mightiest dragons in the world? Is 'god' merely a term for mighty spirits who receive worship, or is there something truly setting them apart? Answer these questions, then you can stat your gods. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Outsider Posted February 27, 2005 Report Share Posted February 27, 2005 Re: Power level for God Gozer the Gozerian? Choose the form of the Destroyer? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lupus Posted February 27, 2005 Report Share Posted February 27, 2005 Re: Power level for God Gozer the Gozerian? Choose the form of the Destroyer? I was very sad when I found that Gozer wasn't a real god. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hooligan x Posted February 28, 2005 Author Report Share Posted February 28, 2005 Re: Power level for God Gozer the Gozerian? Choose the form of the Destroyer? Actually I went with Belak of Kirjath-Jearmin which I found in the Old Testament. Joshua has some great names to crib for bad guys if you don't mind plagerizing from the Lord. Five years of Catholic school for this? Belak was off-screen and in a dream this week. I won't need stats for months as he has evolved into a manipulator/mastermind and the PCs will have to deal with his deluded minions first. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vanguard00 Posted February 28, 2005 Report Share Posted February 28, 2005 Re: Power level for God Heh...give him a decent VPP but otherwise make him relatively weak. It'll be a hoot when the PCs crap their spandex coming up against him, then whoop his deific behind. GM: "As the godling lays on the floor, alternately moaning from his wounds and cursing the heroes before lapsing into unconsciousness, a darkness seems to creep into the room, sucking the light away rather than simply covering it. A great booming voice reverberates in the heads of the heroes: "You have defeated my son! Now you shall feel my wrath!"" Then call for a break Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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