[center][url=https://fontmeme.com/fonts/blue-north-font/][img]https://fontmeme.com/permalink/210202/5f49590c327aa724cb69a53c0dffac40.png[/img][/url] [img]https://i.pinimg.com/564x/46/fa/03/46fa03d7cff0d8f09aca22528671ded6.jpg[/img] [/center] [center] [sub][i]“God does not play dice with the universe; He plays an ineffable game of His own devising, which might be compared, from the perspective of any of the other players [i.e. everybody], to being involved in an obscure and complex variant of poker in a pitch-dark room, with blank cards, for infinite stakes, with a Dealer who won't tell you the rules, and who smiles all the time.”[/i] [b]― Terry Pratchett, Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch[/b][/sub] [/center] [url=https://fontmeme.com/fonts/blue-north-font/][img]https://fontmeme.com/permalink/210202/8d29a8c11666c4c98850a1577669323c.png[/img][/url] The premise of this 1x1 is quite simple. After having made many god and/or divine characters these last few months, I find myself wanting to roleplay a deity alongside at least one other person, primarily using the lore from Wizards of The Coast old Primal Order sourcebook as a foundation. Which I will provide a link to below along with snippets of pertinent lore of course. Now before anyone says it, no this will not be tabletop nor involve any of the actual rules, as rules are quite silly when writing of gods anyway, merely the information the book itself provides. Finally, I don't exactly have a plot in mind save wanting a world in which our gods might play, the exact structure and cosmology of which I am more than willing to discuss and create with prospective partners. It should be noted that I do have at least one major stipulation regarding this, that being everything emerges from the void, be it the gods or planes or what have you, and that everything eventually returns there. Not because of edge, mind you, but out of a fondness for Babylonian/Sumerian/Akkadian mythology and the role it so often plays in many of those cultures creation myths. Plus it serves as a very simple and easy to understand birthing point for things. That being said, onto the general rules and expectations. [url=https://fontmeme.com/fonts/blue-north-font/][img]https://fontmeme.com/permalink/210202/6c5a75772070f93e53f1d38b1e05e4da.png[/img][/url] [list] [*]You must be at least 18+ to write with me, namely because of preference but also because there won't be many restrictions on how dark or gruesome or sexual any plots we make can get due to it being carried out via PMs, minus a few things that I personally just don't feel comfortable with. Speaking of, romance is fine, but I'd like it to be built up naturally if possible and not forced from the get-go. Other than that I don't expect it to be the whole focus of the roleplay. ‎ [*]Touched on it briefly above, but yes, I would like for any writing to be done over PM so as to not breach the rules of the Guild. As for post length, just give me enough to work with. You don't need to be a poet, though you do need to have at least decent grammar, punctuation, and spelling, and you don't need to write a book, but I can't be expected to reply very well to nothing more than a single sentence. ‎ [*]In regards to schedule, I'm pretty much free from Sunday to Saturday, minus the span of 10:05 AM to 12:35 PM, in which time I attend my computer information systems class. As such, I should be able to reply in a fashionable manner, but if I cannot for whatever reason I will endeavor to let you know. Because of this my expectations in terms of posting frequency will be quite lax, though I would prefer it if whoever I am partnered with returns the favor and lets me know when they cannot post in advance. Same thing goes for a loss of motivation. I'd like to avoid ghosting if possible, so if the roleplay begins to feel stale or you're just not interested in it anymore, please let me know so I'm not left hanging or so we can possibly work a more interesting story out. ‎ [*]I will be using a sheet for my character, a template of which I'll provide below later on, to keep track of their personality and such. I expect partners to make their own sheets for their own characters as well. [/list] [url=https://fontmeme.com/fonts/blue-north-font/][img]https://fontmeme.com/permalink/210202/94e8013899b603a14e213edd491d963f.png[/img][/url] [url=https://i.4pcdn.org/tg/1469232993474.pdf]The Primal Order[/url] [hider=Primal] [h3][u]Primal Energy[/u][/h3] [indent] Primal energy, often shortened to just "primal," is unique to deities. Every deity has at least a small amount of primal, and the more powerful the deity, the more primal the deity possesses. Indeed, primal energy is the underlying basis of divinity. Primal energy is the most fundamental energy in the universe and the most powerful, the most "raw." It can bypass all "normal" magical, physical, and mental defenses as if they weren't even there, and none of these forces can bypass a primal shield. This is not to say that primal energy is completely unstoppable—primal defenses can be worn down—but there is no normal defense against primal, and no normal attack can completely bypass a primal defense. Primal energy cannot be negated, bypassed, cancelled, dispelled, or absorbed; the only way to stop primal is with primal. Since gods' souls are sustained by primal energy, they don't necessarily require bodies, although there are a lot of good reasons for having them. This fact, and the power of primal to change reality, means that deities are free to choose the appearance of their bodies. Abilities like sight or strength may be enhanced; new abilities may be added. Deities can spread their awareness over a wide area, gaining knowledge from many places at once. They can exert influence in a like way. Primal energy exists in two forms, base and flux. Primal base is the form of primal energy that gives the soul divine qualities; it is almost synonymous with the deity's soul. In general, the more primal base a deity possesses, the more powerful the deity becomes. Primal flux, on the other hand, is the active component of primal energy; deities use flux in order to create primal effects. The important thing to remember is that primal base is the regenerative form of primal energy. Primal base transcends the law of conservation of energy; as such, it is a very precious commodity and deities do not use it lightly. Primal energy controls how it engages reality; it can ignore it or affect it in ways that more "normal" means cannot. Because of this, it becomes an extension of a deity's will; through the use of primal energy, a deity can affect reality directly without having to resort to spell research, monetary expense, or any significant amount of time. However, the expenditure of primal is not a trivial matter. Deities must conserve primal for other things, such as supporting their clerics, minions, creations, and possibly less powerful gods if they so choose, doing research into their spheres of influence, and so on. An even more important thing to consider is that deities always want a reserve of flux; you never know what the day has in store. As long as a deity has even the slightest ounce of primal base, that deity lives on. Should they have no primal base however, that deity dissipates into the void and ceases to be. [/indent] [h3][u]Primal Base[/u][/h3] [indent] Primal base is primal energy in a stable form. It is what binds together a deity's soul, and the more base a deity has, the better that deity can directly affect reality. Flux generated from this base is what deities usually use to affect reality. A good analogy to use when trying to understand the difference between primal base and primal flux is to think of primal base as "principal" and primal flux as "interest;" you can spend either one, but spending primal base will decrease your principal, and therefore reduce your interest gains of primal flux in the long run. One place where this analogy fails is that you aren't allowed to "reinvest" your flux. Since deities do not have to be in physical contact with their primal base, one of the fundamental strategies a deity learns very early is to keep a safe reservoir of primal base, possibly in several locations. Since primal base is very stable, it can easily be partitioned into separate portions; a deity might divide primal base among several planes and an artifact, just to make its destruction particularly difficult. Primal base can also be converted directly to primal flux at anytime, though given the value of base and the difficulty in procuring it, this is rarely done. When deities split up their primal base, they retain only one level of consciousness; to have multiple levels of consciousness the deity must use an ability called omnipresence. Whether or not a deity's base is split up, the flux generated by that base will always go directly to the deity, as long as the two are not separated some sort of force or shield that would stop such a transfer, such as another deity's primal flux shield. Nothing in the universe can use a deity's primal energy, base or flux, against that deity's will. Since the deity's base and soul are inextricably combined, the deity must consent to someone else's use of that primal energy. This means that primal base cannot be destroyed or harmed in any way short of a primal attack from another deity. [/indent] [h3][u]Primal Flux[/u][/h3] [indent] Clearly, primal base is a precious commodity, and is rarely used directly. The form of primal energy deities use most often is primal flux, or simply flux, which can support clerical hierarchies, setup primal-based defensive shields, and unleash "primal blast" attacks, among other applications. Though primal flux is very powerful, it has a short lifespan. It must be used within a day of its creation or it will dissipate. Primal flux serves as the physical manifestation of the deity's will. This ensures that any use of primal flux will serve the deity's will flawlessly; a primal blast will always hit its intended target, a primal shield will always protect its occupants, and a primal-enhanced spell will always be perfectly aimed. The only way to ruin this is if other deities intervene with [i]their[/i] primal energy. [/indent] [h3][u]Primal Signatures[/u][/h3] [indent] Primal energy is difficult to hide. Any use of primal energy sets up a signature unique to the deity. Deities can sense such signatures and recognize those with which they are already familiar; they are invisible to mortals. A deity is allowed to create accompanying effects with almost any primal-based ability [i]("a crackling red and silver streak of energy issues from Nergal's hand and echoes with the wailing of a thousand tortured souls ...").[/i] Deities can even use such enhancements to fool mortals into thinking that another deity might be responsible for a particular phenomenon, but the signature is infallible and cannot be hidden from another deity. Note that the signature only lasts as long as the effect; there is no residual signature. Identifying a signature is a fairly straightforward matter. If Joey visited Pele's volcano, it would be clear from the protective curse laid on the lava stones that a goddess had affected them. If he met Pele in person, it would be clear that the curse is hers, since the signature will match her primal aura. Also, just as mortal family members often share a last name, pantheons of deities will tend toward similar signatures. If Joey wanted to teach a group of deities what Pele's signature is like, the only reasonably effective method would be to grab one of those rocks and show it to them. Trying to describe a signature second-hand is rather difficult and prone to error. The best way to do this is to describe them in terms of senses. For example, Pele's signature might be "hot and red." Joey's could be "a placid calm with gentle waving," or "a rustling dampness," or something like that. For that matter, Pele could be "spiky black" or "slinky huskiness with hints of ginger," if you want to make it harder for the players to match deities with signatures. Don't get stuck on one sense, either. The examples just listed use emotion, sight, hearing, smell, touch, and taste. [/indent] [h3][u]Engagement[/u][/h3] [indent] Engagement is the term for describing whether primal energy does or does not affect another force or substance. Deities can choose with which other bits of the universe their primal energy will interact. The process of setting up what a deity's primal energies will engage is called keying the primal. For example, Pele is annoyed by an incredibly foolish mortal witch. Showing unusual restraint, she keys her attack for magic instead of sending a blast of primal energy to destroy the witch. As a result, the witch is untouched by the nasty energies playing around and through her, but every magic item she has is vaporized. [/indent] [h3][u]Limitations of Primal Energy[/u][/h3] [indent] In spite of the incredible power and versatility of primal energy, it is a limited resource. When a deity's flux is gone, it's time to switch to another resource or possibly die. Finally, the best way to fight primal is with primal. Primal energy may be powerful, but if an opponent has it too, the situation boils down to finesse. [/indent] [/hider] [hider=Spheres of Influence] [h3][u]Spheres of Influence[/u][/h3] [indent] When you hear that Mars is the God of War, or that Pele is the Goddess of Lava, you're hearing about spheres of influence. A sphere of influence is more than just liking something; it requires that the deity and the concept become fundamentally joined. Plooplah, whom you may remember is the Goddess of Chickens, may like bowling very much and bowl whenever she gets a chance, but that's not enough to establish bowling as another sphere of influence. It requires scholarly research, research involving primal energy, actually claiming the topic, an epic event, and using more primal energy to back up the claim. A sphere of influence is an aspect of reality that the deity has specifically staked out as his or her own. In more common terms, a sphere of influence is often what the deity is known as "god of." However, this isn't a hard and fast rule. Some deities will have spheres of influence that are not quite as well publicized. There aren't many good reasons for downplaying a sphere, but as we know, deities can be somewhat ineffable. For instance, many stories in Greek mythology associate Aphrodite with beauty, so beauty might well be one of her spheres of influence, though love is the most famous. Development of a sphere of influence requires extensive research in the area, in addition to becoming associated with the concept in the minds of worshipers, the public at large, and other deities. All deities can manipulate the universe, but the better they understand certain aspects of it, the better their control over those aspects. A deity who studies only the attributes of war or magic has much more knowledge in these areas and thus more control and power than other deities of equal strength. Ultimately, however, the complete development of a sphere of influence requires one final step: the establishment of an actual metaphysical overlap between the deity and the chosen sphere of influence, so that the deity and the concept become fundamentally connected to each other. This is more than just being associated with the concept; it involves actually becoming an underlying part of the concept. The deity must become so entrenched in the concept that wherever the concept exists, the deity's influence will be felt. On rare occasions, this final meld between deity and sphere of influence might happen without anybody noticing, but by far the most common catalyst is a heroic quest, some event or task that defines and establishes a deity's right to claim his or her sphere of influence. After Pele had prepared herself for a position as a volcano goddess, her defeat of the previous owner of Mauna Loa was the heroic quest that established her sphere of influence. The fact that the process also netted her a home plane was a nice bonus. [/indent] [/hider] [hider=Planes] [h3][u]Planes[/u][/h3] [indent] Planes are where deities live, to put it simply. A plane is somewhere that gods go that mortals can't usually reach by any normal form of transportation. If mortals can get there on their own, it probably requires passing a particular gate or point Orpheus made it to Hades, but he had to pass over the River Styx and past the Gates of Hades to get there. Mount Olympus was also a plane separate from our own. The plane that most characters will think of as "their" plane is usually referred to as the main plane. Normally, getting from the main plane to any other plane, whether or not that plane is controlled by a deity, requires some very special circumstances. There's no particular restriction on how many planes there can be, or on what the rules of travel are between them. [/indent] [h3][u]Planar Basics[/u][/h3] [indent] Basically, a plane is a place you can't get to by any normal means of transportation, a place that's "not here." Walking, sailing, or flying won't get you to Narnia; it takes a certain magic wardrobe for that. Tornadoes are the preferred transport to Oz, and we still don't know of any way to get to Middle Earth. This isn't a perfect definition, unfortunately. Sometimes you can just walk to a place that would qualify as another plane; Mount Olympus is one example. The big feature of a plane is its limited access. If you are on the plane that mortals usually inhabit [i](which you may know as the prime material plane, reality, or the first plane; we'll call it the main plane)[/i], getting to another plane is going to be hard, hard, hard. In the case of Mount Olympus, no mortals will get there unless the Olympian gods notice someone searching and decide to reveal and open the gate. Otherwise, all the poor seekers will ever find up there is goats and hypothermia. The idea of gates is a key one. You can connect planes physically, but it's not recommended. In any case, there will always be very specific points through which you must pass to cross from one plane to another. If the United States and Canada had an impenetrable wall of primal force between them, and you could only get from one to the other at the Customs stations, then we would be on our way toward making the U.S. and Canada separate planes. Examples of such gateways to other worlds occur frequently in mythology and fiction. In one myth, Orpheus traveled to Hades and back, passing through two gateways—the River Styx and the gate guarded by Cerberus—by means of the magic in his music. In the movie Mary Poppins, Mary takes the Banks children and Bert for a lovely day spent with dancing penguins and a magic merry-go-round. They travel to this animated plane by way of a sidewalk chalk drawing. And in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, the rabbit hole is Alice's gate to mad queens and mushrooms. None of these places is available to the typical bus traveler; each journey required either magic means of transport, passing through a specific point, or both. [/indent] [/hider] [url=https://fontmeme.com/fonts/blue-north-font/][img]https://fontmeme.com/permalink/210202/51d6e3c2baf05c7a2ed1866cc68959b1.png[/img][/url] [hider=Template CS] [code] [hider=Name Here] [quote] [center] [h3][u]God Name Here[/u][/h3] [b][sub]Sphere of Influence | Personal Planes[/sub][/b] [/center] [center][img]Feel free to put an image here, preferably something with a fantasy theme[/img][/center] [b]Gender[/b] [indent] Rather self-explanatory I think. [/indent] [b]Appearance[/b] [indent] Your character's appearance will go here. [/indent] [b]Personality[/b] [indent] Also self-explanatory. [/indent] [b]Powers & Abilities[/b] [indent] Your powers and abilities go here, primal ones will be considered default, or starting abilities. [/indent] [b]Other[/b] [indent] Anything else, perhaps things such as relics or some such, goes here or may be placed here as the roleplay goes on. [/indent] [/quote] [/hider] [/code] [/hider] This is a rather basic skeleton, so feel free to modify it in anyway you like or even make your own. [hr][hr] Now obviously there is a [i]lot[/i] more material from the PDF that I didn't put here, namely because it got far too gamey, but again I'm willing to work out specifics with those interested and willing. In any case, thanks for reading. I look forward to seeing what interest this drums up.