[hider=Heroes & Prestige] Heroes are mortals who have been chosen by a god to receive great power. Heroes can be charismatic leaders and legendary warriors. Depending on their creator, they may also be peaceable creatures, with little skill in battle. All Heroes are immortal and quite resistant to being killed. However, this does not mean they are invincible. Critical wounds, potent magic and exotic poisons may still bring about their death. The skills and resilience of a Hero depends greatly on who created them and for what purpose. In addition to immortality, each Hero has their own set of unique powers or abilities. For example, a Hero may be a powerful necromancer, an ingenious inventor, a wind dragon, a sentient suit of nigh-impenetrable armour, or really anything else. All heroes have an approximately equal level of power added to them their creation. An Order is a group of individuals that collectively functions like a Hero. They too have unique abilities, shared among the Order- they may be samurai, scientists, pirates, politicians, or wizards of great renown. Although they may be weak individually, their combined abilities are roughly equal to that of a Hero. They are not immortal, but may recruit new members- training them to full strength, however, will take time. As a general rule, the larger an Order, the weaker its individual members. As Heroes and Orders adventure through the game, they gain Prestige. Prestige is a resource that Heroes may use to push their usual limits. Each post that features a Hero awards them Prestige as follows. [list] [*] +2 Prestige: For each post in which a Hero plays a major role. If they only play a minor role, this is halved. [*] +2 Prestige: If the post was collaborated between two or more people. If the Hero only plays a minor role, this is halved. [*] +1 Prestige: If the post follows a Quest. [*] +2 Prestige: If a Hero completes a Quest they pursued over three or more posts. If the Quest is completed in two posts, this is halved. No completion bonus is awarded if a Quest is started and completed in the same post. [/list] Generally, if a Hero is present in a post but does not act or contribute dialogue that advances the story in some way, they have not played a major role. Otherwise, claim the full amount. Quests are tasks or goals that may be nominated by the players at any time and set by the GM. They may be simple, such as teaching a city the art of horse-riding, or complex, such as negotiating peace between two factions of gods. Additional bonuses may be arranged if the quest takes an exceptional amount of time or the prose is of exceptional quality. Multiple heroes working together to complete a quest all gain the full prize. All heroes have the opportunity to partake in a Quest- no secret or private Quests are allowed. A hero can only complete two Quests per turn. A Hero may spend Prestige to do the following. [list] [*] 1 Prestige: Push their limits to perform a single great feat beyond what they're normally capable of. (e.g. wrestle with a bear, conjure an elemental that fades, circumnavigate the globe) [*] 2 Prestige: Make a small but lasting change to the world around them, beyond what they're normally capable of. (e.g. build a great bridge, kill every rat in a plagued city, craft a magic flute) [*] 2 Prestige: Teach people a basic technology, spell or idea. (e.g. stone houses, mercantilism, commune with birds) [*] 5 Prestige: Form a community, such as a town, ship's crew, cult, warband, or other group [*] 10 Prestige: Found an Order (for Heroes only), elect a Hero (for Orders only). [*] 2 Prestige: Claim a Title. [*] x Prestige: Level up a Title. [/list] Unlike divine actions that spend Might, a Hero must be capable of delivering change 'by hand', so to speak. They cannot simply will change into being or break physical or individual limits, and performing any heroic action must be shown to take an appropriate amount of time in character. Teaching people how to make and master Fire may take a few months, while teaching people about Monarchy and getting them to accept a monarch's authority may take decades. Titles are commemorations of things a Hero has learned, earned, done, or been given. These titles mark a hero's growing depth of experience and wisdom. Whenever a Hero's character develops in some way, they may claim a title relevant to the new development. If [Heidi, the Wanderer] is taught how to brew potions of healing, she may choose to claim the title [i]Potioneer.[/i] Titles act like levels in a skill, and may be levelled up over time. They may change their name as they level, but still mark the same kind of experience. For example, after four levels, the title [i]Potioneer (I)[/i] may change to [i]Grand Master of Alchemy (V).[/i] Heroes may grow, develop and learn new skills without claiming titles, and push their limits without using Prestige, but won't achieve the same level of glory as Heroes who have done so. When it comes to a contest, specific titles beat general titles. If a Potioneer and a Healer of the same level each try to heal the sick, the potioneer's expertise will certainly help them greatly, but the healer will still be more adept. If a Hero founds an Order, or an Order elects a Hero, they share a single pool of Prestige, but each has their own titles. No Hero may have more than one extant Order at a time, nor may any Order have more than one Hero. Gods may grant titles to Heroes. The cost of levelling up Titles is as follows. [list] [*] 2 Prestige or 1 Miracle: Claim or grant a title at level 1. [*] 2 Prestige or 2 Miracles: Advance a title from level 1 to level 2. [*] 3 Prestige or 3 Miracles: " " " " level 2 to level 3. [*] 4 Prestige or 1 Might: " " " " level 3 to level 4. [*] 5 Prestige or 1 Might and 1 Miracle: " " " " level 4 to level 5. [*] 6 Prestige or 1 Might and 2 Miracles: " " " " level 5 to level 6. [/list] And so on. In short, it takes 2 Prestige or 1 Miracle to grant a title, and Miracles or Prestige equal to the title's next level to advance it by one level. There is potential for Heroes, given extraordinary circumstances, to become gods. There is no set route for a Hero to go about becoming a god and it is a matter of developing in character, though one ingredient that is of utmost importance is to gain access to divine essence in some way. If an extremely powerful Hero were to slay an Avatar, for instance, and drink its ichor, they would take in some of said god's essence present in the ichor and become somewhat divine themselves. Normal mortals or Heroes who are not powerful enough could be destroyed or harmed upon exposure to divine essence. If a god willingly gives their essence to a Hero, the Hero may ascend to godhood immediately. The god, of course, will die. [/hider] [hider=OOC WIP] UPDATED PRESTIGE SYSTEM https://www.roleplayerguild.com/posts/4656959 PLANES https://www.roleplayerguild.com/posts/4656209 NOTES Unmanned Holy Sites should be possible. Planes can be either 'open' or 'closed'. Holy Sites are permitted in an open plane. [/hider]