assault

The chanting crowds were drawing nearer. "He-don-ia! He-don-ia!" came from one direction. "Mar-ket! Mar-ket!" came from the other.
 
Soon they would meet, and the mayhem would begin.
---
Where there is competition, there are fans. And when you mix rival fans and the gifts of Oeneus, there is trouble.
 
Whether it is chariot racing or Foote-the-Ball, there are hooligans.
 
Secondary Domain: Hooliganism.

By my reckoning, that's the last of the regular picks for Etterskell. Nothing left except the Bonus Monster/Guardian that DT awarded.
 
This will be a Guardian. Here's how it starts:
 
Crax, the Head Honcho of Homicide, was devising another scheme for a Perfect Murder to whisper in some mortal's ear. Then suddenly Etterskell stood before him.
 
"Crax," she began without the least opening courtesy, "We need to talk."
 
Gah! Interruption, right when he was about to figure out how the killer would frame an innocent man for the crime -- a double murder, from the execution!
 
"Talk to the hand," he snapped as he flipped up the divine appendage so named. Then curled in all but the middle digit.
 
Etterskell's lips tightened. "If you insist," he said. "Shall I take it when I go, and hold my conversation elsewhere?"
 
To be continued.
 
Dean Shomshak

Etterskell never meant for it to happen. They did not will the horror into being; they didn't ask for it to be done; it wasn't even another Oops. And yet, the creature could never have existed without the gifts Etterskell gave to mortal kind.
 
Anyone who knows anything about Etterskell knows that They broke the world; and consequently, everything that world is a little bit broken in turn. (Except the other Gods, who are whole and perfect and completely wonderful, just ask them. Especially, Masque, Crax, and Mister Rancor, whom we love and wouldn't have any different.) And in the Sharded World, everything can be divided into parts, which can be reassembled into new wholes.
 
The cult of Aleph believed that mortal misery came from incompleteness. Individual souls were shards of a primordial World-Soul that broke in the Big Oops. Enlightenment came from recognizing that incompleteness; salvation came from reconnecting to other creatures and other souls. As mortals reconstructed the World-Soul, they would approach divine bliss and, ultimately, redeem the world.
 
Etterskell insists They never said this. No other God will take the blame, either. Even Mister Rancor, Father of Lies, says "Ew" at the doctrine, mocks its touchy-feely optimism, and suggests maybe Nadiya gave mortals this hopeful dream. Which turned out to be so terribly destructive. Nadiya denies it. Calm Aziza, however, points out that mortals are more than capable of coming up with delusions on their own and any deceit by the Gods is redundant.
 
But getting to the point: Aleph cultists often engaged in wild chimerism as a way to connect with other creatures and blur the distinctions between species, including the different species of the cultists. As best anyone can reconstruct the disaster, one group sought to connect their minds and bodies into one being -- to become the seed of a renewed World-Soul. But they went too far. Too much alchemy, too much metamorphosis, too much connection, broke their mortal forms completely. They... deliquesced, and flowed together into one shifting, churning mass of protoplasm.
 
And hungry.
 
The... thing... oozed out from the cult's shrine. Whatever it encountered, it consumed. Grew. Sought more. And it especially sought people.
 
It overwhelmed homesteads, then villages. Heroes did battle, and fell, and were devoured. As it consumed a city, the Gods bade all their champions to try slaying the Thing. They failed. It was too big. It had no vital organs. It could not die.
 
Until finally the God of Murder himself was prevailed upon to kill it. Mortals can only speculate what incentives were offered, whether threat, bribe -- or perhaps the fear that the Thing truly would consume and assimilate all life in the Chimney, and there would be nothing and no one left to kill or be killed.
 
A creature bigger than a city is long in dying, even at the hands of a God. And in its death throes, Fitz say a flailing bit of the Horror fall across a Crack -- and vanish. To the past, to the future, no one knows. But the Chimney has not seen the end of the creature that threatened to devour the World.
 
The creature had a name, Those who saw it and lived call it the Shoggoth. They just knew.
 
In the aftermath, Etterskell did her utmost to stamp out the Aleph cult. They appeared to every one of the cult's initiates, slapped them upside the head, and said, "No! It doesn't work like that!" But the doctrine is still known, and other accidents may happen from excessive use of alchemy and chimerism. So that's another way a Shoogoth could menace the World again.
 
Mythic Monster: The Shoggoth
 

 
And Etterskell is very sorry for this terrible accident that resulted from her well-meant gifts.
 
Dean Shomshak

The chanting crowds were drawing nearer. "He-don-ia! He-don-ia!" came from one direction. "Mar-ket! Mar-ket!" came from the other.
 
Soon they would meet, and the mayhem would begin.
---
Where there is competition, there are fans. And when you mix rival fans and the gifts of Oeneus, there is trouble.
 
Whether it is chariot racing or Foote-the-Ball, there are hooligans.
 
Secondary Domain: Hooliganism.

The chanting crowds were drawing nearer. "He-don-ia! He-don-ia!" came from one direction. "Mar-ket! Mar-ket!" came from the other.
 
Soon they would meet, and the mayhem would begin.
---
Where there is competition, there are fans. And when you mix rival fans and the gifts of Oeneus, there is trouble.
 
Whether it is chariot racing or Foote-the-Ball, there are hooligans.
 
Secondary Domain: Hooliganism.

Good lord, Nathan will probably LOVE that. Guy chews a lot of scenery

Thank you, gentlemen.
 
Quick clarification request:
 
Please confirm a couple of things for me:
 
Per 6e, your starting points are "400 it's including 75 from DisadPlications."
 
If you start with no DisadPlications, you still have 325 pts to use.
 
 
Thank you.
 
 

Really not much has changed about disadvantages except the number of complications you need to take.   Every of matching complications you do not take reduces the points you get.  The standard superhero is 400 points and needs 75 points in matching complications.   So, if you only take 50 points of complications for your standard superhero you get 375 points to build the character.  If you take more than the required amount you don’t get any extra points.    All they really did is change it from adding points for disadvantages, to subtracting points for not having complications.  The end result is identical.  What they did was recognize that almost all starting characters took the maximum allowed disadvantages. 
 
Complications under 6th edition are not worth more points than the disadvantages of the earlier editions.  A Psychological complication/disadvantage that occurs very frequently with a total commitment is worth 25 points in both systems.   They actually cut the number of points of complications you need to take in 6th edition but left the point values basically the same.
 
They did actually increase the value starting characters get.  In 5th edition the standard superhero was 350 points, in 6th edition it is 400.   The extra 50 points was likely to cover the increased cost of the figured stats.  

Hope this helps you even if it's not the whole list
 
 
 
 
 

With web weavers, it's always on a need to sew basis, and you don't need to sew

It was an Elb patriarch who made the first prayer about it. He would not be the last:
"Oh Nadiya Brightbringer, Goddess of Hope, Resilient Wanderer, she who guide from the gut," the elb looked at his sickly daughter who thrashed against her restraints, "My daughter has sought to take her own life. Such a melancholy has taken her. They say with time she maybe able to recover from her addiction from the Flora Intoxicana. There is always hope! I know this I..." The father choked, "But I love my girl, and I feel so weak. Please, I beg you, in the name of fathers everywhere, fathers who would give the world for their children... but are in the end only mortal, help us! Help us fight the murder plant! Are you even listening?"
 
Oh, but she was.

And her response came in on seemingly delicate painted wings! Insects of such beauty and dainty grace, how they danced along the fields and flowers! Their swarms were delightful to behold  and uplifted the spirit. It was glorious!
 
And then, they had their offspring. The winged insects laid their eggs on murder plants, seeming to prefer them to all others. From these tiny insect eggs, their larvae broke out, and upon the Flora intoxicana they dined! Small, bypassing the thorns easily to dine on the plants before others might harvest them. Immune to the negative effects of the plant, the larvae would ravage the plant, rendering it unusable for a long period. For a part of that period, the larvae would form a cocoon about itself, and then shortly after, burst into the adult form, another generation of beautiful delicate winged skydancers! By the time the Flora Intoxicana plant recovered, a new batch of larvae would already be hard at work hindering it, if not neutralizing it entirely.

Many would admire the winged form, and see them as hopeful little miracles. Some would never know it was the Larvae that were actually saving so many from addiction and doom.
The Brightbringer was not one to oppose so directly, but the so called Murder plant had been constructed so it attacked the hopes of elves itself. Hope? Hope is, at rest, gentle. But nothing fights back more fiercely.
 
Fauna pick (#2): Flutterbys! (Whose larvae favor devouring Flora Intoxicana and rendering them far less prevalent)
 
(The Multiplicty factor might be partly responsible for the sheer varation in colors and wing shape among the flutterbys, but the preferred food is fixed)

 

You want an update ?
 
Say no more !

WORLD CREATION SUPERDRAFT 7
OUR WORLD CREATORS THIS YEAR ARE . . .
Player 1. Assault God of Intoxicants, Oeneus
Geography. Pastures
Sentient Life. Satyrs
Gift to Civilization. Herding
Fauna/Flora/Ore. Caprines (sheep and goats)
Interference. Fitz’s Monuments are built with rollers  
Mythic Monster or Guardian. 
Secondary Domain. Sex
Secondary Domain . Music
Secondary Domain: .
Player 2,Cancer God of Fire, Thoal Anni’in
Geography. The World is a cylinder
Sentient Life. 
Gift to Civilization: 
Fauna/Flora/Ore. 
Interference: 
Mythic Monster or Guardian. 
Secondary Domain. Purification and Healing
Secondary Domain. 
Secondary Domain. 
Player 3,Csyphrett God of Heroes, Clarkent Kal
Geography. Watch Tower
Sentient Life. Gandians
Gift to Civilization: Book of Dooms
Fauna/Flora/Ore. 
Interference: 
Mythic Monster or Guardian. 
Secondary Domain. Justice
Secondary Domain Righteousness
Secondary Domain. Exploration
 
Player 4. Death Tribble, God of Murder, Crax
Geography. 
Sentient Life: K’rac C’ho C’o
Gift to Civilization. 
Flora/Fauna/Ore: Flora Intoxicana aka The Murder Plant
Interference: Murdered an entire continent
Mythic Monster or Guardian. The Soul Eater
Secondary Domain. Evil
Secondary Domain. 
Secondary Domain. 
Player 5, DShomshak God of Multiplicity, Etterskell Breaker of the Sharded World
Geography. Cracks that can take people backwards or forwards in time
Sentient Life. Chimerae
Gift to Civilization. Alchemy
Flora, Fauna, or Ore. 
Interference. Hypostases and Composite Dieties
Mythic Monster or Guardian. 
Secondary Domain. Accidents
Secondary Domain. Parts and Wholes
Secondary Domain: Transplant Surgery 
Player 6. Enforcer84 Goddess of Strife, Ceass
Geography. Wildlands
Sentient Life. 
Gift to Civilization. 
Flora, Fauna, or Ore. Hippopotamus
Interference: 
Mythic Monster or Guardian: 
Secondary Domain: Freedom
Secondary Domain / Option: Courage
Secondary Domain / Option. 
Player 7. Hermit Goddess of Hope, Nadiya Brightbringer
Geography. Elven Lands
Sentient Life. Elves
Gift to Civilization. Competitions and Champions to settle disputes etc
Fauna/Flora/Ore: Skywood
Interference: .  
Mythic Monster or Guardian. 
Secondary Domain.  Resiliance
Secondary Domain: Intuition
Secondary Domain / Option.
 
Player 8. L Marcus God of Intrigue, Masque
Geography. 
Sentient Life. Shades
Gift to Civilization. Espionage
Flora, Fauna, or Ore. Spiders
Interference: .
Mythic Monster or Guardian. 
Secondary Domain. Ambition
Secondary Domain. Intelligence and Wits
Secondary Domain: Shadows
 
Player 9. Logan  God of Avarice, Nagus Sterling
Geography. .Holy City of Hedonia
Sentient Life: Dwarves
Gift to Civilization.Commerce
Flora, Fauna, or Ore. Squirrels
Interference. 
Mythic Monster or Guardian. Fleeze the First Dragon
Secondary Domain . Profit
Secondary Domain:/Option: Opportunity
Secondary Domain / Option. 
Player 10, Old Man God of Illumination, Alitheon
Geography. The Celestial Skies
Sentient Life. 
Gift to Civilization. 
Flora/Fauna/Ore: Fireflies
Interference. 
Mythic Monster or Guardian. The Flaming-Eaux
Secondary Domain. Learning
Secondary Domain. Death and Rebirth
Secondary Domain. Guidance 
 
Player 11, Pariah Goddess of Small Things, Strangecharm
Geography. 
Sentient Life. Wisps
Gift to Civilization. 
Flora/Fauna/Ore. Talking Mice
Interference. 
Mythic Monster or Guardian. 
Secondary Domain. Sand
Secondary Domain. Rain
Secondary Domain.Choices
Secondary Domain. Coincidence 
Player 12, Pattern Ghost Goddess of Reflection, Aziza
Geography. 
Sentient Life. 
Gift to Civilization. Philosophy
Fauna/Flora/Ore. 
Interference. 
Mythic Monster or Guardian. 
Secondary Domain. Truth
Secondary Domain: Indecision
Secondary Domain: 
Player 13, Psybolt God of Hatred, Mister Rancor
Geography. 
Sentient Life. Humans
Gift to Civilization. Politics
Fauna/Flora/Ore. Mosquitos
Interference. 
Mythic Monster or Guardian. Pontianak
Secondary Domain. Intolerance
Secondary Domain: Vengeance
Secondary Domain: Manipulation and Lies 
Player 14, Sociotard Fitz, God of Bastards and Neglect,
Geography. Elemental Plan of Sewage and Middens
Sentient Life. Rivers
Gift to Civilization. Monuments and Pilgrimage
Fauna/Flora/Ore. Wolves
Interference. Alchemy lances protected by the Sons of a Gun
Mythic Monster or Guardian. 
Secondary Domain. Midwifery and Birth Control
Secondary Domain: Water
Secondary Domain: 


 

"Hmm..." said the god of Intoxicants. "Meddling in my domain? I must contemplate."
 
 
Oeneus approves!

The armies had amassed, common soldiers commanded by leaders to shed blood over mere land. In a world of shifting rivers what did that even mean?  Yet it was the nature of almost any world that there would be war, and men would die.
Yet there was one who offered an alternative. A woman game forth before the ruler of each side, somehow bypassing all guards and protections. She was oddly familiar yet none had seen her before.
And she spoke, "There is more than one way to settle matters, to gain glory, a way that allows even the lowliest private to rise up and achieve fame and renown and better his lot, while keeping the multitude of your hosts alive! What if you could have a chance of the prize you seek without losing your forces so casually ? I can show you the way!"

And the rulers, not wanting to be so weak after this battle that OTHER Enemies could tear them apart even if they won? They listened as she spoke earnestly. She spoke of tournaments, and competitions between athletes and most of all, Champions!  Of Hope found through strife, and Courage and Resilience celebrated!

This goddess , who bore odd similarity to two sister goddesses as one, swayed them and gave a great gift to civilization. That each side might, rather than having thousands die, would each pick a champion to test each other's might in matches. That those champions should be rewarded for their risks, win or lose, and that fair play and rules set to keep the the test honorable and (usually, accidents happen) non lethal. Wrestling! Tourney Jousting on the back of hippos! Even games of skill such as chess might be the determining factor!
 
To this day, many a sports match or tourney is dedicated to Ce'Diya, and the rules to prevent cheating are called Ce'Diya's code!

Gift to Civilization:  Competitions and Champions to settle disputes and to Entertain in lieu of war
 
 

 
 
And yes, Ce'Diya is a composite being made possible by Etterskell's interference. Both the Brightbringer and the Lady of Strife still exist separately, but in this cause they were united, and so Ce'Diya became at least long enough to give this gift to civilization.
 

I lost a bit of momentum last weekend, so three picks to catch me up.

Fauna: Caprines (Sheep and Goats.)

Satyrs are pretty much human/goat hybrids, so the world needs goats.
 
Geography: Pastures

Beyond the cities and fields lie grasslands, meadows and hillsides, where sheep and goats (and other creatures) can graze.

Gift to Civilization: Herding

Where there are sheep, there are shepherds. And where there are shepherdesses, there are satyrs.

Rumours about satyrs and sheep are, of course, scurrilous.

This is a write-up for Merlin the Magician adapted from various Arthurian legends, films, and RPG write-ups for D&D. Included is the Hero Designer file and character sheet (5th Edition) in Microsoft Word.
Some design notes for your reference:
 
1) Most of what I read and watched depicted Merlin as a diviner and seer who works through others rather than actively commit direct action. The most common abilities portrayed were his divination to see into the future, ability to move through nature much faster than normal means (those traveling with him also moved faster as a result), and glamour magic (illusions). I increased the END cost for his glamour since he often needed to sleep for an extended amount of time to use that magic. He is not an archetypal high fantasy wizard who throws lightning bolts and fireballs in battle.
 
2) I adapted some of his abilities depicted in Romance of the Perilous Land RPG where Merlin is a druid and is able to summon forces of nature to strengthen others.
 
3) I definitely included his lust as a disadvantage, since it was his lust that got him duped into being imprisoned in a magical tree by the Lady of the Lake (Viviene) in order to get him to stop fawning after her. 😉
 
Enjoy!

Finally got setup here.  Here's the document I found in a Champions Boxed set.  I picked the box up at Half Priced Books in Redmond WA. No names in the box to indicate who might have owned it prior to me except a hand written character named Voyager/Star Dancer.
 
 
 
 
Binder1.pdf

Have your thoughts had time to pickle?
 
I'll take another domain:  Midwifery and Birth Control

Gift To Civilization: Espionage!

Planning ahead for next year.
 
We do something more akin to the Graeco-Roman pantheon or the Norse. So all the Gods are family and are more closely inter connected which let's face it we have not done beforehand.
So first pick next year is the initial domain and then we agree how each god is related to another and that will be by consensus. If people want to agree prior to the start of the draft then they will let me know.
Any thoughts ?
Objections ?

There's a reason why defining your goals is step one.
 
Write them down, and organize them.
 
Defining your goals means deciding exactly what you are trying to do, what kind of superheroes you are talking about, and so on.

It's the point at which you go from Vague Idea In Your Head, to something practical written on paper.

A man screaming at the sunken statue "you maniacs! You blew it up! Ah, damn you! God damn you all to hell!"
 
Onlookers ask "What's his problem?" "I think he's on crack. or fell out of a crack. same thing really."

The foreman said: "By the Bastard! How are we supposed to move these rocks? This monument won't build itself!"
 
The devotee of Oeneus looked up from his reverie, and said: "Rollers. We put them on rollers."

And that is how Oeneus became the god of Sex, Drugs and Rolling Rocks...
---
Interference: Fitz's monuments are built using rollers.
 
It's too petty to justify this as a Secondary Domain, unless DT declares otherwise.
 
I originally intended to use this joke much later in the draft, as the end of a Shaggy Dog story. 

Left my job today after 8 Years and 6 Months of public service. 4 fires, a mass shooter incident at the VA home, global pandemic response and so many Suicide/DTS/DTO incidents I literally lost count. Some of the best humans I’ve had the pleasure to work alongside, and the privilege of leading. 
 
Crazy transition. In 10 days I start my new gig (very similar to the previous one but different County). Really looking forward to the many new things I have to learn about the communities I’ll be serving, and the local priorities. Going to use the time to get my head on straight and study the community health assessment and other state/local reporting so I’m ready to go from Day 1. Very excited. 

I like this as a gag and the fact that it adds to another God's choice makes it an ideal Interference.