You toil away in the underworld, or stand around in the underworld, or once again experience bliss in the underworld. Not that it really matters, whether you've been trapped in the pits of Tartarus, the Asphodel fields, or Elysium, what matters is that it's always the same thing, day in and day out. Over the millennia the dead have grown restless. Occasionally, every century or so, there is a small uprising, but Hades and the souls that work for him quickly put it down and all those who rose up are lit on fire for a century or so as punishment.
One day Hermes arrives to take you to speak to one of the gods. That's not surprising. From time to time the gods "hire" the dead to do a particular job, those jobs being different depending on the god or goddess. This isn't like the other jobs, though. You have found favor in the eyes of this god, for reasons they explain to you, and they wish for you to be their agent. They have a problem with Hades, and want you to help them get back at him. They have tried this many times before, but Hades has always managed to put down the "rebellions". Though the gods cannot interfere directly in the domain of another, or risk punishment or, worse, civil war, they can send agents, and the deity you stand before will empower you to be their agent, if only you agree.

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This will take place in the Greek underworld. You can be anyone from the time humans first walked the Earth to the present, as they have gotten souls for a long time, and inherited the underworld and many souls from the gods and titans that came before them. The underworld is divided into three parts:
Tartarus: Where the evil souls went. They are tortured in a way appropriate to their desires or sins.
Asphodel: Where the average souls went, those that weren't really evil or good. Essentially an overpopulated wasteland that is so boring you would kill yourself were it possible just for the few seconds of change.
Elysium: Heaven, where all of the good people went. There is all kinds of fun and happiness to be had here, but there is only so much fun you can have before it becomes meaningless.


1) Pomegranates are the fruit of the afterlife. As such, for every one a dead person consumes, their health and energy is restored by 1/5 if they have a body, or fully if they don't. They are grown in Elysium, but there are strict export restrictions, making them rare in Asphodel and extremely rare in Tartarus.
2) Demigods may eat small amounts of Ambrosia for a similar, but longer lasting, effects to pomegranates, but the only people with access to it are the gods and some titans, so it is far rarer than Pomegranates in Tartarus. Also, it is both highly addictive and poisonous, so if you do stop using it, you become poisoned and go through serious withdrawal. Non-demigods are simply poisoned by it.
3) Your patron may teach you powers similar to their own powers, but, as you are human, it is pathetically weak at first and it must be practiced to grow in strength.
4) The dead can grow hungry or thirsty, but they can't die or pass out from hunger or thirst unless they have a body. If they are struck down, say in battle, however, they pass out if they don't have a body, or lose their body if they do.
5) Once you cross the river Styx you are alive again, and if you die your soul will be automatically sent to the appropriate afterlife, where Hades has guards stationed, waiting for the souls of escapees.
6) Magic takes twice the energy of powers, is slower to use (You have to recite the spell every time for new spells, and the first time for familiar spells), and increases in strength slower then powers. Its advantage is that it is versatile. Hecate merely removes the energy usage difference for her descendants and agents.
7) Your time here has had a psychological effect on you. You can choose what though.
8) I understand that the Greeks had different cultural rules regarding nudity and sex, and that that would bleed over into their underworld. (the original Olympics were performed nude, for example), but we're writing young adult fiction, not erotica. If nudity or sex is necessary to your character development or the plot, try to take a minimalist approach. Hint at things, don't tell (and I mean hint. "They entered the bedroom, and an hour later they left arm in arm, smiles on their faces." that kind of thing.) If things go too far and you feel like you need to do it, post it in Titanpad or something, and make it private. I don't have a problem with extreme violence, though. If you want to disembowel someone and strangle them with their entrails, go for it.
9) Bonus attributes can also be gained as a gift from the gods, or by being born as a Demi-god. These add bonuses based on the specific god.
10) Having a body has benefits and drawbacks. Not only do you have to eat if you have one, but you have your full senses back and can therefore experience all of the pain you could while alive. If you don't have a body, you only have your senses of sight and hearing, and dull touch. If you have a body you can use stronger magics and powers, and are usually stronger physically.
11) Your magic is restricted to your sponsoring deity's domain.
12) Your dominant hand bears the mark of your sponsor.
13) Long ago Hermes commissioned Hephaestus to build teleporters so that he and his agents could move more freely around the underworld. These require either Divine Drachmas (the currency of the gods) or permission from a master/parent to pay for their use. The money is sometimes used to pay agents, and is used by the gods for trade and gambling in Elysium.


I will be posting every spell from the RP here for reference.



The Harem: Square kilometers of cramped cells, deep in Tartarus, where punishments of a sexual nature are administered. Circe is held here, being punished for all of her crimes against men by being forced to obey their every order. These orders aren't always sexual, but many are, so this is where she has been sealed for over three thousand years.

The Brewery: A place where alcoholic drinks are manufactured constantly, worked by both slaves from Tartarus and agents of Dionysus.


The River: A larger river that runs from Elysium across the wasteland.
The Rock: A 5 meter tall rock that sits about in the middle of the wasteland.


Persephone's Grove: Hades promised his wife more fertile land than all of Greece to try and convince her to stay with him, and this is the result. Here she administers and tends to over 100 square kilometers of Pomegranate trees and orchards for hundreds of other types of fruit. The Grove produces most of the fruit in the Underworld, including all that Dionysus uses in The Brewery. Millions of souls visit daily to eat the fresh fruit.

Dionysus's District: A haven of Hedonistic pleasures without consequence. Has hosted a never ending Woodstock since 1970.


The Arena: Where contests of the body, generally combat sports, are held. The crowd is usually made up of agents, demigods, and the denizens of Elysium, and the fighters are either warriors from Asphodel or Elysium, or Slaves from Tartarus.

Olympus: Not part of the Underworld, it can only be reached by teleporter, and only at the invitation of a sponsor or parent.

Rebel cove: A cavern lit by luminecent crystals. The Greeks know only that it exists, but you have to be a rebel or anarchist to find or enter it. "Lead" by a god named "morning star", likely for the enchanted flail he carries with him.


Name:
Gender:
Race: (human, demi-god, Neanderthal, etc.)
Apparent age:
When did you die:
What culture did you belong to?
What did you do when alive?
Where did you go when you died?
What did you do after you died?
Sponsoring god:
Do you have a body?:
If Yes, how did you earn it?:
Bonus Attributes:
Powers:
Spells:
Effects of time spent here:
Bio:
Other:

Ok I have a few more questions:
1) Can I have Hermes as my patron?
2) For Magic, when you say " ...Hecate merely removes the energy usage difference for her descendants and agents.", what do you mean by that?
3) Will language barriers be an issue? The Underworld will contain pretty much every nationality to have ever lived.

@TheUnknowable
Here is my character sheet. Hopefully there will be other players joining soon.

Character sheets:
Name: Isaac Bonhomme
Gender: Male
Race: Human
Apparent age: Mid 20's
When did you die: September 10th 1914
What culture did you belong to?: French
What did you do when alive?: Store Clerk in civilian life, was in the French army when he died
Where did you go when you died?: Asphodel
What did you do after you died?: Wandered around, eventually developing a circuit through Asphodel.
Sponsoring god: Hermes
Do you have a body?: No
Bonus Attributes: A good sense of direction
Powers: Hide in Plain Sight (Makes it hard for someone to notice or find him)
Spells: Open Locks
Effects of time spent here: Has a hard time staying still, and feels a desire to keep moving his legs despite not having any
Bio:
Ever since he arrived on the banks of the river Styx with his fellow soldiers, Isaac has constantly wandered. It started out as curiosity, trying to see who he could find, but after years of roaming it became a force of habit. He regularly walks between the borders of Tartarus, Elysium, and banks of the Styx, and has met people from more cultures than he could have imagined existing.
This constant wandering attracted the attention of Hermes, who called upon him one day. Hermes explained that Isaac was one of the few spirits that kept moving, and had seen more of the underworld in the last few decades than most saw in centuries of existance. Hermes offered Isaac his blessing if Isaac would be willing to work for Hermes. Seeing no downside to this, as it gave him something to do, Isaac accepted the offer. Over the years Isaac has done various jobs for Hermes, mainly delivering messages or leading people from place to place. Recently Isaac has noticed Hermes has called upon him to help locate spirits for other gods. When asked about this, Hermes has only replied with a smirk and a change of subject.
Other:
The Symbol of Hermes is the caduceus

Ok I have a few more questions:
1) Can I have Hermes as my patron?
2) For Magic, when you say " ...Hecate merely removes the energy usage difference for her descendants and agents.", what do you mean by that?
3) Will language barriers be an issue? The Underworld will contain pretty much every nationality to have ever lived.

1)sure
2) I was comparing it to powers, so if I used a lightning bolt spell and a child of Zeus used a lightning bolt power, I would use the same amount of energy with my spell. I really should add it as a bonus attribute, as the "wide variety of magic" thing is actually her domain.
3) no, not really. I could say that all souls learn greek out of necessity, and use it as a universal language, or we could all have just learned many languages just so we can talk to each other. I've had six hundred years to learn and you've had a century, so we could easily know dozens of languages. I'd have definitely learned French, and would probably have known medieval french when I died.

@TheUnknowable
Good to know. How is my character sheet?

@TheUnknowable
Good to know. How is my character sheet?

It's fine.

@TheUnknowable Very well, I will move my CS over if we get someone else in here

I'm interested just gotta work on a CS

@TheUnknowable I think it might be worth it to add more special locations to the list. A general idea of what major features of the underworld there are, especially how they separate the three regions. Is there a Great Wall of Tartarus? Do you need to get pass the velvet rope of Elysium? Does Charon have a major dock he lands at when dropping off souls?

Another aspect that I would like to know is if the actions of the living when remembering the dead (i.e. the Day of the Dead, ancestral offerings, leaving flowers at a grave) have an effect on underworld inhabitants.

Good Idea. I'll write up those locations. Any other locations? I'll also add a grand kennel for Cerberus and his descendants, where some evil dead person shovels dog crap all day.

@TheUnknowable
Mainly major landmarks. In Asphodel that might be as simple as "A Tree", if it is as barren a wasteland as you describe it. Elysium's garbage dump might be another major landmark in Asphodel as people try to find something worthwhile in the castoff.If spirits feel the need to eat even without a body, is there a market of some sort? ("I got an orange rind that still has the citrus scent!") There might be a few buildings and monuments from times when restless spirits tried to find a way to occupy themselves.

On the Tartarus side, go full Dante's Inferno. Describe some of the other places of ironic punishment. Hell (rim-shot), have fun with some of the cultural dissonance between the Greeks and modern society in terms of what they consider a punishable offense. Is there a processing center or courthouse of sorts? What features are used to keep the damned souls in Tartarus? Is it possible for people from Elysium and Asphodel to visit, if they were so inclined? ("Damnit I want to feel something again!")

For Elysium, what form does "Paradise" take? Pastoral fields meadows where the weather is always pleasant and the game plentiful? A never-ending carnival? Lavish ballrooms evoking a bygone era of elegance? A thumping nightclub where the more hedonistic desires can be indulged in without restraint or hangovers? Is the Greek Equivalent of Saint Peter literally a bouncer to this club? ("Sorry but you're not on the list")

@redbaron1234Do you want to help design some of them? I know I want "Persephone's Grove", where she tends giant pomegranate orchards and has a thousand square kilometer botanical garden to be part of Elysium. Other than that, I'll need some help designing them all.

@TheUnknowable
Yeah sure, I wouldn't mind helping. How would we go about collaborating?