The Spark of the Divine
IC
Once upon a time, many life-ages of men in the past, a single spark of light dwelt in the void alone. It was a content spark, happy to simply shine and illumine the vast darkness of the cosmos, at least for a time. For endless eons it was solitary, simply musing, thinking, but eventually it grew restless; what good was light if none were there to appreciate it? This spark desired companions, others to gaze upon the beauty of its form; to be cherished and adored.
And thus from its thoughts beings sprang, spirits of lesser brilliance and gorgeous array. And the spark was happy once more, for together the light and the spirits danced and communed, talking for long ages of the wonder of existence and the emptiness of the void. The more luminous of the spirits took on their own names, and their own forms, clothing themselves in shapes magnificent and strange; the spark was glad, for in their minds sprung thoughts it could never have conceived alone, thoughts of the surpassing ingenuity and grace.
At long last the spirits grew restless; the void was so formless, and they desired ought to occupy their time, something to mold. They grew tired of the spark's musings and esoteric discourses, impatient with its placid ways. The light saw their unhappiness and was down-hearted as well; for if its children could not be happy with it, how then could it be glad? Finally it happened upon a way to ease their disquiet.
Within the void it spun itself together, the spark changing and molding itself far beyond the glorious splendor of even the most magnificent of the spirits. Struck speechless by its brilliance the spirits could only watch as the spark became Mara, the Earth, a realm of immeasurable splendor and unknowable secrets. Forests beyond the ken of their minds grew from the rocky veins of the realm, oceans vast and tempestuous, and the spirits descended into the firmament to gaze upon the wonders of Mara.
Last of all the spark left its children a gift; beings walked upon the world, beasts, birds, fish, and finally man. In man the remnant of the spark burned brightest, and the more luminous of the spirits took it upon themselves to guide man, to help him on his course. Man walked in the lush gardens of Mara and was happy, for the radiant spirits walked with him, speaking with him, counseling him.
But in the hearts of the cleverest of the spirits a new thought awoke, a black thought; with the spark gone and these men existent upon Mara, they could gather power and beauty for themselves. Some lights thought to themselves that they could gain dominion over the others, be powerful, grow more like the spark had once been.
And that, gentle listener, is where our story begins.
IC
Once upon a time, many life-ages of men in the past, a single spark of light dwelt in the void alone. It was a content spark, happy to simply shine and illumine the vast darkness of the cosmos, at least for a time. For endless eons it was solitary, simply musing, thinking, but eventually it grew restless; what good was light if none were there to appreciate it? This spark desired companions, others to gaze upon the beauty of its form; to be cherished and adored.
And thus from its thoughts beings sprang, spirits of lesser brilliance and gorgeous array. And the spark was happy once more, for together the light and the spirits danced and communed, talking for long ages of the wonder of existence and the emptiness of the void. The more luminous of the spirits took on their own names, and their own forms, clothing themselves in shapes magnificent and strange; the spark was glad, for in their minds sprung thoughts it could never have conceived alone, thoughts of the surpassing ingenuity and grace.
At long last the spirits grew restless; the void was so formless, and they desired ought to occupy their time, something to mold. They grew tired of the spark's musings and esoteric discourses, impatient with its placid ways. The light saw their unhappiness and was down-hearted as well; for if its children could not be happy with it, how then could it be glad? Finally it happened upon a way to ease their disquiet.
Within the void it spun itself together, the spark changing and molding itself far beyond the glorious splendor of even the most magnificent of the spirits. Struck speechless by its brilliance the spirits could only watch as the spark became Mara, the Earth, a realm of immeasurable splendor and unknowable secrets. Forests beyond the ken of their minds grew from the rocky veins of the realm, oceans vast and tempestuous, and the spirits descended into the firmament to gaze upon the wonders of Mara.
Last of all the spark left its children a gift; beings walked upon the world, beasts, birds, fish, and finally man. In man the remnant of the spark burned brightest, and the more luminous of the spirits took it upon themselves to guide man, to help him on his course. Man walked in the lush gardens of Mara and was happy, for the radiant spirits walked with him, speaking with him, counseling him.
But in the hearts of the cleverest of the spirits a new thought awoke, a black thought; with the spark gone and these men existent upon Mara, they could gather power and beauty for themselves. Some lights thought to themselves that they could gain dominion over the others, be powerful, grow more like the spark had once been.
And that, gentle listener, is where our story begins.
Marvelous! Now that that backstory is out of the way, allow me to introduce this RP.
This RP is a Gods-style RP; divine power will abound, miracles will be performed, and followers will quail. You are the spirits mentioned in the opening text, outflows of the mind of the spark, and now you seek to guide man through his journey upon Mara and gain dominion and glory for yourself. You will become more than a spirit; you will be a god.
But this isn't a mere RP, oh no. To make this more interesting, I've added some RPG elements to your time upon Mara: think of this like a game, with a lot of writing involved.
Firstly, this RP will progress in periods called Turns. Herp-derp, yes, we have turns. You can RP as much as you want within a given turn, as your god, but actions will only be resolved every Turn.
Second, some of your actions will effect the world of Mara and your followers in certain ways; these actions will require resources, which are explained below.
Third, though your primary focus as an author will be the Divine you control, you do also to an extent take on the role of your human tribe. You must coordinate their activities, help them make sense of the world, and chose the path they follow on the road to civilization.
Without more to-do, have an application.
- Code: Select all
[b][u]God Application[/u][/b]
[b]Name:[/b]
[b]Color:[/b] (this is what your earthly holdings will be marked with on the map)
[b]Position on Map[/b]:
[b]Aspects:[/b] (These are descriptors of what your god is like, and determine its powers. Consult the list below to choose three of them.)
[b]Personality:[/b]
[b]Appearance:[/b]
() denotes notes explaining the app; please delete them in your application
The World of Mara
Though now mostly formless and void, Mara is a blank canvas with a few blemishes already marring it. Trees from which your followers may hew wood for dwellings and edifices, fruit-bushes where they may forage to sustain the fires of their souls, water to temper those flames and prevent the consuming inferno from devouring them alive. Humans are as they have always been- fragile beings of many humors and needs to keep them from expiring. The world of Mara is not what could be called our world yet though; beyond Godshome, the first dwelling place of man and the divine, the world is formless and void. It has no ores, no creatures, no vistas or seas that we would call normal. All must be shaped by the gods and their servants in order to make a new place in which all may live.
Concepts Explained
To effect a physical change upon the surface of Mara, a Divine must draw two forms of strength from their followers. Worship and prayer are the most common ways to gain this strength, and the words of men who bear in their chests a part of the spark that made all things give power to those Divines which may gain their favor. It is a symbiotic relationship, that of man and Divine, for man can change his world only to a limited extent, while the Divine cannot cause larger changes without man's belief.
This is Faith. Naturally, each follower of a Divine may choose to pray to their deity for a turn (day), and so allow that deity to accumulate a point of Faith. Faith allows a Divine to exert an Aspect of their nature and thus cause a Miracle. Miracles can range from smiting down unbelievers, to making new life from the dust, to raising hills and forcing entire new regions to take shape. Faith is the currency of creation, the agent of change upon Mara. Every Divine by nature gains one Faith every turn/day, representing the small amount of inherent power they possess; as such, no Divine can ever truly be destroyed, for they can always change the world about them. They can, however, be reduced to near irrelevance through the loss of all their human followers.
Next in importance is the concept of Divinity, the matter of the Divine and thus their life-blood. Each Divine has certain Aspects they are composed of, what makes up their essence and thus the ways they interact with the tapestry of Mara. Exerting these Aspects in a Miracle is all well and good, but sometimes the needs of followers or the ambitions of the deity may require a Divine to become what they are not. This is the purpose of Divinity. By the worship of men, the strength of the Divine for change is also increased, their legitimacy as a god augmented and waxing. With conscious thought and effort this strength may be exerted to alter an Aspect a Divine possesses, exchanging it for another, creating a new form of miracle, or even increasing the ability of that Divine to hold more Aspects within itself.
There are also the mundane concerns, those relating to men and their ways. The foremost is Labor, the sweat and work of men which must be dedicated to the making of all things, time spent by fleeting candle-creatures to alter in their own small way the painting of the Spark. Any man may labor towards an end, but time consumes this labor greedily.
The secondary are Resources which are as multitudinous as the clouds of the sky in their shapes and forms. If a man carves a totem to mark the lands worked by his tribe, he must cut the graven images in to a waiting wooden lodging. If he seeks to keep the wind from biting on cold nights, fires must consume branch and trunk of forest giants. Many resources come to Mara of their own accord; grass grows, the trees spread their seeds, and water wells up from hidden depths. But others require the intervention of the Divine to give them form, to make them accessible to men. Gathering these Resources and shaping them in to ought which may prove useful is of vital importance to any tribe of men.
Finally, and perhaps most useful to the spark-bearers that struggle in mud and dust, is Innovation. Innovation is the ability to devise new methods of using Resources, to better worship the benevolent Divines, to mold and shape the many facets of the painting that is Mara. It is generated by all men in some ways, but in some men more easily than others. Innovation makes a sharp stick in to a spear, lets man plough furrows so his crops may grow, turn the trunks of mighty trees in to ships to ply as yet non-existent seas.
All these things a wise Divine must balance and acquire if it hopes to bring good lives to those who follow it, to make its own mark on the tapestry of existence. Without worshipers a Divine fades and is forgotten, and that is the ultimate mark of failure, to be washed from the minds of even those who once called upon the name of their god.
What then, Divine, will be your path, your legacy, your future?
Aspects may be added to or changed with Divinity. The first change costs 5 Divinity, the with each additional alteration costing 10% more than the last. If your Divine wishes to adopt a new Aspect, they may do so for double the normal cost, and TG the OP their ideas for said Aspect.
Wonders
There are some powers the Divine wield that are not necessarily part of their own character, so much as exertions of their will. These abilities reshape the very fabric of the world to their will, changing threads in the tapestry the spark originally created. By changing the very nature of the planet their human followers walk upon, Divines can alter climates, reshape the bones of Mara, and even create new life to roam the wilds. All of these abilities drain significant amounts of the strength that a Divine may possess, but often permanently change the passages of the world and require little to no power to maintain, as they become intrinsic parts of the land.
Innovation may be used to create new buildings or items. If you wish to do so, TG proposed mechanics and costs to the OP. One Innovation per tribe per day unless otherwise noted. Innovation costs increase at the same rate as Aspect Adoption costs for all Divines, but may be adopted at base cost by first adopters.
Population Growth: New members may be born to the tribe, if excess food is gathered by the workers who labor for a Divine. If double the food required for a day is in the possession of a tribe, there is a 90% chance that a new member may be gifted to the tribe by the forces of creation which still entwine the soil of Mara, an echo of the Spark. The chance of a new tribe member being given breath decreases commensurately with the degree of excess food; if a new tribe member is born, all excess food is consumed.
Warfare: In times of crisis, sometimes it is necessary to take resources from another tribe, or even attempt to destroy them in totality. These dark actions are, however, easy enough to take; any number of Followers may be designated to attack the holdings of another tribe within range from your holdings, and then either be declared to be raiding or assaulting that tribe. The amount of defenders is equal to the amount of enemy Followers working within five tiles of the attacked holding in the case of a raid, or equal to the amount of enemy Followers working within ten tiles in the case of an Assault. If the enemy Divine has yet to allocate actions for their workers for that day, they will see the attack coming and thus be able to allocate their Followers to defense. Followers On Guard gain +1 to their Attack Resolution, and +1 to their Defense Resolution, fighting on familiar terrain and prepared for combat.
When battle is joined, two separate rolls are made for each Follower engaged in combat- Attack, and Defense. Attack Rolls are always made, one for each attacker and defender. Attacker and Defender strike simultaneously, and by default wound an enemy on a 9+, and kill an enemy on a natural 10. If a wound of any kind is scored, the affected party then makes a Defense Roll, which downgrades the wound on an 8+. During Raids no lethal wounds may be dealt by the attacker, and the defender may choose not to inflict lethal wounds either if they wish. The total number of injuries and kills is tallied to determine the winner of the battle, with kills counting for triple compared to wounds. The force with the highest resolved Battle Score is victorious; if the attacker, they may move on to seize Resources (two per Follower) from the defeated tribe, or if an Assault attempt to destroy enemy buildings. A 10 is required for a building to be destroyed, resolved once per attacker. If the defender triumphs, they may choose to inflict one additional Wound on the defeated Attacker for every two Battle Score they triumphed by.
