mayapuppies Posted March 23, 2005 Report Share Posted March 23, 2005 Ok, I'm trying to setup a campaign where one of the races available (called spirits at this point) are actual offspring of gods. Incredibly nerfed to fit within the campaign world and PC power levels, of course. The main thing is this: I want the spirits to be able to be worshipped by people (PC's and NPC's) in the game. This worshipping will very very very slowly transform the spirit into a god and will allow the spirit to heal/recover/etc at a more normal rate (their normal rec is 1). In addition, the worshipper gains an END Battery to power their spells. How would I write this up? At this point the concept in my head is still a bit rough and I plan on writing it up today in greater detail, but I'm looking for a direction to head with this symbiotic (sympathetic?) relationship. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vanguard00 Posted March 23, 2005 Report Share Posted March 23, 2005 Re: Symbiot Magic (aka worship) Ok, I'm trying to setup a campaign where one of the races available (called spirits at this point) are actual offspring of gods. Incredibly nerfed to fit within the campaign world and PC power levels, of course. The main thing is this: I want the spirits to be able to be worshipped by people (PC's and NPC's) in the game. This worshipping will very very very slowly transform the spirit into a god and will allow the spirit to heal/recover/etc at a more normal rate (their normal rec is 1). In addition, the worshipper gains an END Battery to power their spells. How would I write this up? At this point the concept in my head is still a bit rough and I plan on writing it up today in greater detail, but I'm looking for a direction to head with this symbiotic (sympathetic?) relationship. I don't think it's going to be a perfect symbiotic relationship in that the points are definitely unbalanced between the spirit and the follower. For the follower, simply give them an END battery and the limitation "Must be in the good graces of [spirit]" (-1/2). For the spirit, don't sweat the small stuff. Give them experience per follower in addition to any experience they might be earning themselves, and use that experience to increase their stats and abilities as you see fit. I'd also award a percentage of the follower's XP to the spirit as a bonus--say 1-10 %, depending on how much of what they do is for the spirit. The more their followers accomplish the more powerful the spirits will become. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mayapuppies Posted March 23, 2005 Author Report Share Posted March 23, 2005 Re: Symbiot Magic (aka worship) Here's the first draft of the Spirit/Channeler write-up: Spirits and Channelers Spirits and Channelers make up a symbiotic relationship that is unique on Kamarathin. However, before explaining this relationship we must look at the individuals. Spirits Spirits are spawned from a dimension other than our own. They are physical manifestations of concepts, emotions and “thingsâ€. Because they are not “born†they are without souls and are thus, immortal. They cannot be killed in the traditional sense. Their cohesive form, however, can be dispersed. This dispersal takes centuries to undo as the Spirits form slowly reshapes. All spirits represent some form of emotion, concept or “thing†and this Domain is the driving force behind the Spirit. Their powers, abilities and goals are all defined by the spirits manifestation. The spread of this focus is the purpose of the spirit. All spirits wish to acquire worshippers in order to help with the spread of this focus and to gain more and more power, eventually able to ascend to the next level of their development; Godhood. The process is very long and requires large amounts of worshippers. If a spirit is dispersed, the process must be restarted and the symbiotic link with their worshippers must be re-established. Channelers Channelers are mortals who worship a specific spirit. Generally speaking Channelers believe in the Domain of a spirit with such fervor that they are able to channel the spirits focus through them and manipulate reality to reflect this focus. Channelers are key to the growth of spirits and without them a spirit will remain in its infancy. Worship Worship is what the symbiotic relationship between a spirit and a channeler is called. The link is established by a spirit. Once the link is made, the channeler gains limited forms of the spirits abilities and draws the energy to use them from the spirit. In return the spirit is able to recover from injuries at an accelerated rate and comes closer to ascending. Game Mechanics Players who wish to play a spirit (or a channeler) must select a Domain that they are the manifestation (worshipper) of. This list of Domains is potentially endless and a GM should review each selection carefully and design the spirit accordingly. Some potential Domains are listed below: • Law • Chaos • War • Justice • Peace • Healing • Disease • Rage • Wind • Animals • Water • Earth • Malice • Music • Trade • Sailing • Etc. Each spirit will be made by the GM and will have the full compliment of points and disadvantages. A PC spirit represents a newly formed/re-formed spirit and has not had the opportunity to develop an individual personality. Thus all of its skills, powers and disadvantages will be indicative of the Domain chosen. Channelers will choose a Domain that they worship and will have access to the spells and abilities that the GM has determined for that Domain. In addition, they will gain an END Reserve that these powers will draw from. Should a channeler decide to utilize his or her abilities in a way that is not representative of the spirit he or she worships, the power will not work and the spirit may decide to sever the link, though the latter is not very likely as most spirits will not want to slow their rise to ascension. Multiple Spirits, One Domain It is possible to have multiple spirits that are manifestations of a single domain. This represents why throughout history there were multiple gods, demons, angels that were worshipped for the same qualities. One Spirit, Multiple Domains A single spirit is capable of acquiring multiple domains. This process is known as Acquisition. Each spirit manifests with this ability, however it requires the destruction of another spirit and the absorption of that spirits essence in order for it to work. Once a spirit has been dispersed, another spirit may absorb its domain. The process is rather lengthy and requires the absorbing spirit to remain at the location of the dispersal for the entire duration of the process. Once absorbed, the acquiring spirit may begin to develop abilities in the new domain and may establish links to any channelers with the new domain. Note: In order for the spirit to utilize the abilities of an acquired Domain they must morph into a representation of that domain (i.e. each new domain is written up as a multi-form). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Obvious Posted March 23, 2005 Report Share Posted March 23, 2005 Re: Symbiot Magic (aka worship) I like. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mayapuppies Posted March 23, 2005 Author Report Share Posted March 23, 2005 Re: Symbiot Magic (aka worship) Thanks, I'm really digging it as well. I'm just having difficulty figuring out how to write-up all the rules and such for them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Obvious Posted March 23, 2005 Report Share Posted March 23, 2005 Re: Symbiot Magic (aka worship) Hmm...well, I've always thought that a god should be built on a number of points equal to the number of followers, or maybe number of followers divided by some number. For this low power level, though, that wouldn't work quite right. Maybe the first few followers give a lot of points compared to the last few thousand. For example, base level spirit has X points; with one follower, add 50 points; with another one, add 25; with two more, add 12; etc. As far as specific powers go, I wouldn't necessarily codify this. Just build the spirits in logical ways, but if one Spirit of War is all about berserk fury and another is about calculation and maneuver, and a third is about comradeship and teamwork, no problem. They're all still War Spirits. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mayapuppies Posted March 23, 2005 Author Report Share Posted March 23, 2005 Re: Symbiot Magic (aka worship) Yeah, I've pretty much got the basics of how I'm going to writeup the spirits, it's the "worship" power and the "acquisition" power that I'm having trouble defining in game mechanics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HewhoisMatt Posted March 23, 2005 Report Share Posted March 23, 2005 Re: Symbiot Magic (aka worship) You should read the Terry Pratchett book "Small Gods" as it is almost to funny for words and oddly inline with this topic. On second thought all of you should read every book by Mr Pratchett. I think you will find them well worth your time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curufea Posted March 23, 2005 Report Share Posted March 23, 2005 Re: Symbiot Magic (aka worship) Well, personally I worship Pterry - and he's granted me the power to move turtles ;-p Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Obvious Posted March 24, 2005 Report Share Posted March 24, 2005 Re: Symbiot Magic (aka worship) A few thoughts here...more for inspiration's sake than for the sake of having concrete numbers: Spirit gains character points in some manner similar to that I've listed above. These points obviously go toward the spirit's characteristics and powers, but must also go toward the Usable by Others advantage for the spirit's powers. The spirit doesn't need to have every power usable by every follower at once. This may translate into spirits who manifest mighty powers through their followers, but only relatively rarely; there may be other spirits whose power is seen often, but only at low levels each time. The truly faithful among a spirit's followers may, perhaps, buy their own powers, identical to these UBO powers of the spirit...these followers will manifest the powers much more often (obviously) and be considered saints. When spirits battle, and one is destroyed, the faithful of the loser become aware of this, and may automatically become faithful to the victor, keeping their powers. The victor immediately gains the character points these new followers grant, but must spend them towards powers mimicking those of the vanquished spirit. Those who choose to remain faithful to the loser will lose their powers (and often be mocked and cast out) but will regain their powers as the spirit re-forms. Large portions of this will not necessarily need to be statted out in Hero terms, as I see it. Anyway, like I said, there are no hard numbers here...just some ideas that might start some wheels turning for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mayapuppies Posted March 24, 2005 Author Report Share Posted March 24, 2005 Re: Symbiot Magic (aka worship) Thanks for the seeds. It's always good to get more idea's into the pot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mayapuppies Posted March 28, 2005 Author Report Share Posted March 28, 2005 Re: Symbiot Magic (aka worship) Ok, here is the first attempt at writing up a spirit. I'm not sure I've done the best with it, but here it is. Any advice would be most welcome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mayapuppies Posted March 28, 2005 Author Report Share Posted March 28, 2005 Re: Symbiot Magic (aka worship) Here are some other files associated with it. Campaign Rules Spirit Template Spirit Prefab Spirit of Justice Prefab Neres Character Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sociotard Posted March 28, 2005 Report Share Posted March 28, 2005 Re: Symbiot Magic (aka worship) I did something like this once. The character was an imaginary friend with the "tinkerbell effect" (took damage from attacks with a 'I don't believe in you' effect, healed with pre attacks with the 'I believe in you' effect). I limited the healing power to max out at what the worshiper rolled on a PRE attack. That way, some characters can worship harder than others. I would also define this as their "food". If they can't find someone to worship them, they waste away. I'd imagine more powerful beings require more adoration. As for evolving into gods, that's just spending XP, with a worship effect instead of a radiation accident. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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