GODS & VILLAINS

[vivalamods]

GODS & VILLAINS

THE OLD GODS

The Old Gods of Esthere are considered more caretakers than all-powerful dieties. The original gods came upon a dead, broken planet and breathed life into it, weaving a world full of magic and life. As the Gods wax in power, they draw followers to themselves, the souls and Ether of these followers empowering them. As they wane in power, some gods will lose their life and a new mortal will be elevated to the position. The duties of a god are to maintain the world’s natural order and balance, ensuring that all remains as it should be. In practice, the gods are beleaguered troubleshooters, running from one natural disaster to the next to ensure the world continues to function normally.

In modern times, the Church of the Divine has nearly eradicated the worship for the gods and they are severely weakened as a result, which is leading to calamitous issues all over the world. As the gods desperately try to patch up these disasters, they have thrown their lot in with the Crimson Corsairs in a desperate bid to regain enough power to stabilize the world.

The Gods listed below are titles, not names, and any race or gender can occupy a god’s spot. Gods are player characters who join a faction and earn notoriety, however their players will have additional responsibilities to run a player plot log each month in which they attempt to re-establish their faith or prevent a disaster. Taking part in these logs will allow other player characters to gain access to a Divine Gambit, which can be used for major missions. God logs can either take place during the Planning Phase, or as part of the Mission phase if the God wishes to assign additional tasks during a mission. Gods that do not have active players will be considered MIA until a player steps into the role. If a god player drops, that god will be dead and will remain so until another player steps forward and takes up the Mantle.

Any Death God will have an additional responsibility related to any characters who die but wish to be revived. These characters will always be able to leave the realm of death, be it through defeating the god in a duel, tricking the god, or striking a bargain with the god. Death gods and PCs may log out these interactions if they wish, but the ultimate result will always be that the PC goes free. Death Gods may also, if the players wish, log out acceptances of dead souls into the underworld if they so desire.

The Gods are not supposed to directly interfere in the political affairs of men, and are barred from joining the Corsairs' offense against the Empire directly. Participation instantly results in being cursed. To avoid being cursed, Gods must not take part in offensive missions personally; instead they can assign tasks and direct other Corsairs to accomplish their goals. They may freely participate in defensive Corsair missions (e.g. the Empire's attack on Flotsam). Player plot participation is similarly limited by the nature of the plot. Attacking an Imperial base would result in a curse. Defending a village against a monster the Empire released into the wild would NOT lead to a curse. If you're not sure which logs are curse-free for a god character to join, feel free to message the mods and ask! More information about cursed gods is in the Powers section below.

DIVINE POWERS

Gods have access to the following abilities:
Throne Room: The Throne Room is the seat of a God's power crystallized within the Ether. It appears as a throne room in a sea of inky darkness adorned with the accoutrements of their station, and they can freely travel between their throne and the mortal plane at will. Gods will often use this to retreat from danger, and reappear wherever they desire within the mortal world - so long as there are worshippers present in significant numbers to fuel them.

The Throne Room may be upgraded in the same way a normal home may be purchased and upgraded with Notoriety. Once upgraded into a home of any size, the God may determine its full appearance and layout at will, even changing it on a whim if they so desire. They may also begin to bring other mortals to their realm if they so desire.
Personal Power: Gods are much diminished from their glory days, but are still a formidable combat force. Gods are equal in power to Villains for purposes of gameplay, a God and a Villain in a one on one fight would be evenly matched with the victor coming down to, essentially, a coinflip.
Domain Control: Gods have an innate control over their domain and can use magic associated with that Domain in addition to whatever powers they normally possess. Certain domains such as death will allow the instant killing of regular soldier or civilian mortals, but any soldier with specialized training (elite soldiers and above) will instead take commensurate damage.
Miracles: Gods gain access to special miracles as they build shrines and restore faith around the world. Miracles can be used to provide Gambit boosts to certain scenes depending on the circumstances. Some Miracles are universal, whereas others may be unique to a certain God. There will be more information on Miracles as Gods become more active.
Curses: Gods are forbidden from interfering with the political affairs of mortals. While all the Gods have a pressing interest in aiding the Crimson Corsairs, the ancient power they draw from is imbued with a curse for those who break their oaths to their Deific Office. Events will be labeled if they are not available to Gods, if a God wishes to register anyway and take part they will be stricken with a Curse immediately. A Curse can be cleansed through Notoriety, or by waiting 2 months. The counter resets if a God receives another curse, and only 1 curse can be cleansed every 2 months. Curses will not be made public knowledge, if a God performs an action that will end with them cursed the mods will inform the God of the curse they have acquired.

THE GODS
HADES Ruler of the underworld and judge of fallen souls. Souls who were neither particularly heroic nor wicked remain within Hades domain.
ODIN Ruler of Valhalla, the realm of the heroic dead. Gathers souls judged by Hades to be particularly heroic or righteous.
HEL Ruler of Helheim, the realm of the wicked dead. Gathers souls judged by Hades to be particularly wicked or evil. Most Imperial Nobles end up here.
APOLLO Ruler of the Sun, governs the aspects of light like growth, fertility, and warmth.
SELENE Ruler of the Moon, governs aspects of darkness like the tides and the natural cycles of nature.
NJORD God of the Seas, governs the tides and the Eternal Ocean
ZEUS God of the Heavens, governs the weather and Isles Above
JORD God of the Earth, governs the land of the continents, their growth and their minerals

VILLAINS
Villains are short-term characters who serve the Empire. Just like Corsairs they can be either native AU or pulled through the Servant's Gate. Those who would resist the mission to defeat the Corsairs can be forced to obey through various means. (e.g. brainwashing, magic control, etc.) They cannot participate in Corsair-only gameplay, but instead deploy during missions to hamper the efforts of the Crimson Corsairs, occasionally crossing paths with undercover Corsairs during daily life.

All villain applications must be submitted with a planned plot, and Villains are required to participate in all mission-type logs until the end of their plot. Villains are considerably more powerful than Player Corsairs, and can fight a whole team of Corsairs on their own and often come out on top. All villains are either defeated or join the Crimson Corsairs at the end of their player plot and become regular characters. Defeat can mean dying, incapacitation, imprisonment by the Corsairs, desertion, etc. -Something that leaves them unable to continue like normal. Villain plots should be constructed to conclude in about 3 to 6 months of missions. Feel free to reach out to the mods with ideas or questions. These guidelines have a certain degree of flexibility.

The reason for a Villain’s increased potency is through the use of special drugs that raise their Ether capacity to an incredible degree. If a Villain joins the Crimson Corsairs, they will be cut off from these drugs and experience severe withdrawal symptoms. The villain’s player may decide how this manifests, but the villain will be severely hampered in any missions they might choose to participate in for at least 1 month.

Villain AC consists of one proof of activity each month. Villains do gain Notoriety points and are already equipped by the Empire with whatever supplies or weapons they need.

Gods and Villains may interact. Villains have a vested interest in eliminating the Old Gods, and Gods are some of the only characters who could go toe to toe with a villain one on one. But players are asked to check with the mods before bringing them together.

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