Welcome to Petri. Where civilization exists as tiny dots in an inhospitable wasteland.
A world where soul-binding contracts with gods are as common as a university education.
Live and thrive, or else.
Cast-Offs of Divinity - A Merchants of Divinity Quest
"Now hiring line cooks!
Free 6 month training course!
Applicant must be willing to sign contract with the god Roux.
"
-Slightly faded flier on a bulletin board.
Who wants to be a Merchant of Divinity? In truth, not everyone. Many are content with humble lives uncomplicated by supernatural affairs.
Of those with greater ambitions many do not achieve them. Time. Money. Effort. Risk.
The accomplished might reach out to a befitting god. The exceptional might find two. To call upon more is the making of a legend or a fool.
You who have no book of divine secrets. No special favor or attention beyond a fair allotment of human talent. Yet you cling to dreams of the highest caliber.
Who are you?
-[] Name
-[] Male
-[] Female
-[] (Optional) How would you describe your personality?
This is just an initial baseline and might be disregarded.
Examples: Talkative. Detached. Intense. Rebellious. Jealous. Suspicious. Thoughtful. Brave. Curious. Cheerful. Cynical.
Where are you?
-[] The Dominion of Tom
A technological paradise built by the hands of a single mad genius. Below the surface lesser mad scientists fight shadow wars over research grants and vigilante investigators struggle to pry what ethical violations into the light they can.
Very high quality of life: Wonders of technology provide for all. So long as you can figure out how to use them.
Very high knowledge availability. Pseudo internet makes research easy. Highest availability of tutoring and education.
Disadvantages:
No place for dullards: Navigating the myriad systems of the city will require skill rolls. Sometimes difficult ones.
The rat race: Achievement is the #1 priority. Social darwinist tendencies. Underachievement can have nasty consequences. On the other hand, success can forgive many things. Including a lack of scientific ethics so long as discretion is maintained.
-[] The Free City of Match
A gilded age city splintered between gangs, mobs and petty warlords. Constant conflict and jockeying hides a deeply woven social code. Oftentimes a dispute may be resolved with a simple game.
Moderate quality of life. Housing quality ranges from mansions to slums. Modern technology is rare. A patchwork of soup kitchens and free lunch saloons makes sure nobody starves at least.
Moderate knowledge availability. From information brokers to bargain bin books, information is available, if you are willing to pay.
Ripe with opportunity: Easy to carve out your slice of the pie, if you are willing to do what needs to be done.
Unspoken understanding: Faced with a true external threat, everyone is willing to chip in.
Disadvantages:
No laws: When custom fails and tradition is silent, no recourse may be found in court.
-[] Team Sparkle Unity Protectorate
A shining frontier city, established by a renowned team of magical warriors.
High quality of life. Equivalent to a well planned modern city with strong infrastructure investment.
High knowledge availability. Plenty of public libraries and a decent educational system.
Disadvantages:
Frequent monster attacks: Team Sparkle always saves the day... practically every week. You wonder if other places are like this.
Imperfect justice: Small issues slip through the cracks. Reliance on heroes as the highest authority creates certain issues.
-[] Wastelander. There are people that live in the wastelands you guess? It sounds like a hard life.
Please vote by plan.
Authors Note: Hello everyone! Long time quest reader, I decided to make the jump and try running one.
This quest is heavily inspired by Storryeater's Merchants of Divinity. Prior knowledge is not required. While many mechanics will be similar, I will be making changes, and will introduce things as we go.
For those unfamiliar, the basic premise is this:
Entreat the attention of gods. Sign magical contracts that offer supernatural power, for supernatural costs. Combine contracts from different gods to game the system.
Naturalism: 2 (0/125)
-Foraging 2 (0/90)
-Animal Training 1 (10/30)
Training rate: 1x
Vehicle handling: 1 (0/25)
-Bike 1 (0/30)
Training rate: 1x
Teaching: 1 (0/25)
-Tutoring 1 (0/30)
Training rate: 1x
1.17 high dots
1 Basic Habitation Cube.
Repurposed Garage:
-Space: 16/25
-Amenities: Power
-Rooms: Decent Laboratory (16)
-Neuroplasticity enhancer: Gain +1 to learning dice size. (1)
Star Viewing Binoculars. Reduces perception distance penalties
Auditory training aid. +9 Naturalism (Animal Training). This is reduced to +3 for spontaneous uses.
Unknown abdominal implant:
-Artificial organ: T3 Biology. Cost 9. Benefit: Allows a purely biological device to be implanted.
-???: T4 Biology. Cost 12. Benefit: ???
Debt: 3.6 high dots. Expected repayment of 1 decent dot per turn.
Inspiration!
-When starting a science project you may spend x points of inspiration to divide the AP cost by x.
-The following actions are known to grant inspiration:
Reverse engineer something you acquired under stressful circumstances: 1 Inspiration
Reverse engineer something a rival made: 2 Inspiration
Demonstrate your superiority to the masses: 1 Inspiration
Have a confrontation with a rival: 1 Inspiration.
Field test a new invention under stressful circumstances (Once per encounter): 1 inspiration.
Gain successes in stressful circumstances via the merits of your invention (Once per invention): 1 inspiration.
Decisively prove your superiority to a rival: 5 Inspiration
Supernaturally increased emotional resilience:
-Effective Weight/2 to most Mental fortitude (Resisting mental pain) rolls.
-Effective Weight/10 to all other Mental fortitude rolls.
-Rapid regeneration for most mental injuries and conditions.
Doctor Infinium
**
You, the contracted, must spend at least 1 action a week on inventing or experimenting. In exchange Unshackle Your Inspiration!
Leviathan Grimm
MD Old Bones
****
First, do no harm upon your patients.In exchange you gain supernaturally increased emotional resilience.
Leviathan Grimm
Painkiller: T1 Biology. Cost: 3, Benefit: +3 to Mental fortitude(Resisting physical pain)
Colorful Kudzu: T1 Biology. Cost: 3, Benefit: Decoration?
Grow Your Own Tree: T1 Biology. Cost: 3, Benefit: Decoration?
Stimulant: T2 Biology. Cost: 6, Benefit: +6 to Perception (People's movement)
Adrenaline booster: T2 Biology. Cost: 6, Benefit: +6 to Athletics (Running)
Artificial organ: T3 Biology. Cost 9. Benefit: Allows a purely biological device to be implanted.
Neuroplasticity enhancer: T3 Biology. Cost 9. Benefit: Gain +1 to dice size for your TAP training dice.
Auditory training aid: T3 Biology. Cost 9. Benefit: Gain +9 Naturalism (Animal Training). This is reduced to +3 for spontaneous uses.
Animal minions:
Known commands: Come, Fetch, Speak
Skills:
Combat: 1
-Bird: 1
Training rate: 0.4x
Athletics: 3
-Flying: 3
Training rate: 0.4x
Perception: 3
- Bird 3
Training rate: 0.4x
Precision: 1
Training rate: 0.4x
Social knowledge: 1
Training rate: 0.2x
Performance: 1
Training rate: 0.4x
Naturalism: 2
-Foraging 2
Training rate: 0.4x
Survived a minor disaster: 1 weight
Directly saved a life: 1 weight
Skills:
Every skill level adds a dice which you roll against the difficulty of the situation, or the roll of an opponent.
The size of your dice starts as a d6, and will increase by 1 for every 10 point of effective Weight you get.
Skills are split into "General skills" and "Specialty skills". General skills represent a broad area of knowledge, while a specialty represents a more specific subset. For example, knowing how to fight falls under "Combat", and knowing how to fight with a gun would fall under "Combat (Firearm)".
For example, if you have Performance 3, and Performance (Singing) 4, you would roll 7d6 to entertain a crowd with your singing.
Note: Certain actions require one level of a specialty to function, regardless of how high the general skill is. For example: Vehicle handling (Automobile) would be required to drive a car, no matter how high your Vehicle handling skill is.
The costs for each skill level are:
general 1: 10
general 2: 25
general 3: 125
general 4: 625
general 5: 3,125
Combat (Represents your skill and ability in combat)
-Unarmed
-Improvised
-Sword
-Firearm
Athletics (Represents your ability to use your body for highly physically intensive tasks)
-Running
-Swimming
Perception (Represents your ability to notice important details.)
-Body language
-People's movements
-Crime scene
Precision (Used for high finesse manual tasks. Non combat. Includes most types of hand crafts.)
-Disarm security (Includes lockpicking, bomb defusing, tripwire bypass, etc)
-Forgery
-Slight of hand
-Wood carving
-Blacksmith
Social knowledge (Combined with oratory arts. Represents both knowledge of social customs, and ability to speak or appeal to people.)
-Comedy
-Public speech
-Rhetoric
-Fiction
Organizational knowledge (Ability to work bureaucracy, organizations, or other power structures)
-Republic laws
-AI administrator protocols
Mental fortitude (Represents your ability to resist stress, trauma or foreign mental influence)
-Resisting mental pain
-Resisting physical pain
-Noticing manipulation
Performance (Represents your ability to put on a show or influence people's perception of you via non verbal cues)
-Stealth
-Lying
-Acting
-Singing
Academics (Includes history and other non-scientific pursuits of study)
-History
-Gods
Science (Used for development and crafting of technologies)
-Mechanical engineering
-Biology
-Energistics
-Architecture
-Chemistry
-Materials science
-Computer Science
Strategy and tactics (Used for commanding armies)
-Siege warfare
Medicine (Used for fixing or managing injuries)
-Surgery
-Pharmacology
-Therapy
Naturalism (Animal handling + Survival. Used for surviving in difficult environments, or dealing with nature)
-Animal farming.
-Plant farming
-Oceanic harvesting
-Riding
-Foraging
Vehicle handling (Used for the operation of vehicles)
-Automobile
-Plane
-Boat
-Bike
-Mech
Teaching (Used for teaching others)
-Tutoring
-Lecturing
Weight:
Weight is a measure of the metaphysical weight of your existence. You gain Weight by preforming acts of renown, or by signing contracts.
Weight is represented by dots called Weight dots. 1 dot raises your Effective Weight by 1 until it reaches 10, then 2 dots are needed to raise it by 1 until it reaches 20, at which point 3 are needed until it reaches 30, etc
All humans start with a baseline of 1 weight dot.
Having weight provides a broad range of improvements including but not limited to:
Each point of Effective Weight grants 1 HP.
Each 5 points of Effective Weight grant 1 AP.
Every 5 points of Effective Weight increases the size of the dice used for skill training by 1.
Every 10 points of Effective Weight increases the size of the dice used for skill use by 1.
Every 15 points of Effective Weight give an extra dice per roll during skill training.
Your wealth level is abstracted. It will go up in tiers:
Very Poor
Poor
Low
Decent
High
Very High
Legendary
Small State Budget
Rich State Budget
Empire Budget
Each tier has 10 dots, and upon getting an eleventh, you go up a tier. Only the tier of wealth you are in and the one below it will be marked.
Significant expenses cost you dots. Each time you go up a tier, anything two tiers below gets ignored as insignificant.
Thus: 4 dots in Decent and 2 in Low will be written as Decent 4.2
A sufficiently large number of insignificant expenses may be aggregated into a significant expense.
First you must research the god. Dedicated research can give information on the god, and what contracts they offer.
Every god has some set of non-trivial actions that must be done to draw their attention. The exact difficulty depends on the god and the situation, but most gods will require multi-turn effort to contact.
Once you have done enough research and drawn their attention, they will appear to you in a vision, and offer you their first contract.
Contractor's name: name of the god this contract belongs to.
Stars: the Total Weight you gain by the act of signing it. Also affects consequences of breaking it or failing it.
Black/white means you must adhere to what is written to the letter. Blue means you must adhere it to the spirit.Red means your nature will fundamentally change according to the letter of the contract.Purple means your nature will fundamentally change according to the spirit of the contract.Green means that you have to fulfill the conditions, to the letter, and then you get to enjoy the benefits with no further cost.Yellow means that you have to fulfill the conditions, and then you get to enjoy the benefits with no further cost.
Signature: empty until you accept, then has your name.
Yellow and Green contracts do not provide weight until they have been completed.
If you break a contract:
1) You lose all benefits it granted, including the Total Weight you gained from it.
2) You lose additional Total Weight equal to the Total Weight it initially granted. If you say break a 2 star contract, you will lose 4 weight in total. Having your Weight reduced to 0 kills you.
3) If the contract has a cost, you are still affected by its cost for turns equal to (Contract stars^2) turns. So a 1 dot contract affects you for 1 turn, a 2 dot contract for 4, a 3 dot contract for 9, etc. The god in question has some degree of influence over how exactly the cost expresses.
4) Immediately take (Stars+1)d(Stars+3) damage. So 2d4 for a 1 star contract. 3D5 for a 2 star. Etc. If your HP is reduced to zero you die or get hit by consequences of the god's choice. (Not necessarily death, it depends on the god. But even if it isn't quest-wrecking, expect massive issues)
5) You make the god angry. Exact reaction depends on the god. Most will refuse any future contracts. Some may send their followers after you or invest time/energy in trying to kill you.
If a god breaks a contract with you, you keep all the benefits, can lose the costs, and gain the weight you would have lost via breaking it. This also hurts the god in question.
The social consequences depend entirely on the situation. If it was your fault the god broke the contract they will likely be extremely angry. If it was not, reasonable gods will not be angry and may even apologize.
Contracts may also be ended by mutual agreement by both parties. You lose all benefits and costs, with no further consequences.
Each turn you have a number of AP and TAP determined by your weight. You start with 10 AP, and gain +1 per 5 weight. Your TAP is 1+AP/3.
Each turn AP may be spent to take actions, and TAP may be spent do to do training.
TAP may be assigned in the format of:
-[] Skill training (Trainer) (Skill or Skill (Specialty)) (x TAP)
Each TAP spent rolls a number and type of dice dependent on your weight, and grants you that much exp to the chosen skill or specialty. Using a trainer increases this number of dice. Using good facilities may increase the size of the dice.
By default these dice are 3d3 per TAP.
The exp gained is multiplied by your training rate before it is applied.
So for example:
-[] Skill training (Jörmungandr Grimm) (Social knowledge) (3 TAP)
Would result in rolling (3+3)d3 * 3 = 18d3 dice.
Say the dice are rolled and the sum is 31. You then gain 31*1.3= 40.3= 40 exp to Social knowledge.
You may teach any skill up to your level in the skill.
They gain dice equal to 1+(Teaching skill + specialty)/3
When tutoring one on one, each 2 AP spent may affect all their TAP.
Every item has a Bonus Point score. These points are used to purchase the Effects the item produces.
Your currently available Effects are:
Painkiller: T1 Biology. Cost: 3, Benefit: +3 to Mental fortitude(Resisting physical pain)
Stimulant: T2 Biology. Cost: 6, Benefit: +6 to Perception (People's movement)
Adrenaline booster: T2 Biology. Cost: 6, Benefit: +6 to Athletics (Running)
Artificial organ: T3 Biology. Cost 9. Benefit: Allows a purely biological device to be implanted.
If you want to make an item with a given Bonus Points score then it will need: AP Cost = (((Bonus Points*2)^(1.5))/(Roll Result*Workshop Level)+0.5)^2
When you decide to make an item you first draft a schematic. This will include the effects to be used and a description of the item. Drafting the schematic is currently a 1 AP Acton and will allow you to roll Science + Specialty dice to get the Roll Result value in the prior equation. You may repeat the schematic drafting action if you wish to try for a higher Roll Result.
Workshop level: A workshop that costs 5 of this level dots to create, and 1 of the level below per week in which it is used.
Poor: 0.5
Low: 0.75
Decent: 1
High: 1.25
…
You need Science (Specialty) of at least T to use an Effect of that Tier. Ie, Science (Biology) 2 is needed to use a T2 Biology Effect.
As a general rule an effect costs T*3 bonus points, and provides T*3 bonus. If you have something special like a rare resource or a contract power this may break down. If the mechanism of action is weak only half the bonus or less might be provided.
Items are reusable unless specified otherwise (Overuse of certain items may cause issues).
Gaining new effects can be done through research, or via narrative events. The mechanics for which will be introduced very soon.
Example Items: Escape Serum Dispenser: A compact synthesizer for a powerful combined stimulant and painkiller.
Total cost 9.
Includes: Painkiller (3). Stimulant(6).
Benefits: Grants +3 to Mental fortitude(Resisting physical pain). Grants +6 to Perception (People's movement)
Example roll: 20
AP to make = (((9*2)^(1.5))/(20*1)+0.5)^2 = 18.6 = 19 AP
Coffee Gland: A modified gland which can secrete a perception boosting stimulant on command.
Total cost 15
Includes: Stimulant (6). Artificial organ (9).
Benefits: Grants +6 to Perception (People's movement) once implanted.
Example roll: 25
AP to make = (((15*2)^(1.5))/(25*1)+0.5)^2 = 50.02 = 51 AP
If you wish to invent a new Effect you must research it by including it in a an experimental project. Unlike a normal project the Science + Specialty roll only occurs at the end, after you have dedicated as many AP to it as you wish to.
Result*Workshop Level*(sqrt(AP)-0.5) ≥ (Bonus points*2)^1.5
If the above equation is true, then the project is considered a successes. Otherwise it is a failure.
Alternatively if a research paper or a device to reverse engineer is available then the modifier may be learned for (Bonus Points)/(Science+specialty level) with a minimum of 1.
Less complete sources of information may increase this, or require a roll.
Computer Science and Biology effects can be used to create intelligence.
Effects which provide intelligence start at T4. Provides a single 0.5x learning multiplier which can be applied to a skill.
Each combinations of bonuses is its own effect:
For example:
Basic Combat Robot: T4 Computer Science. Cost 12, Benefit: Combat at 0.5x
Advanced Combat Robot: T5 Computer Science. Cost 15, Benefit: Combat at 1x
Very Advanced Combat Robot: T6 Computer Science. Cost 18, Benefit: Combat at 1.5x
Mobile Combat Robot: T5 Computer Science. Cost 15, Benefit: Combat at 0.5x. Athletics at 0.5x
Autodoc: T4 Computer Science. Cost 12, Benefit: Medicine at 0.5x
A correctly produced intelligence will generally follow the orders of its creator.
To gain Doctor Infinium's attention you will need to complete a worthy science project. One with at least a total AP cost of 30. To do this you will of course need a lab.
At least a professional level of scientific skill (3 in general + 3 in a specialty) is required. Fortunately you already possess such.
The project must be for entirely self centered reasons. You must be doing it for no reason greater then because you can. You will need an idea.
Once you start the project you must work on it every turn until it is done.
Doctor Infinium
**
You, the contracted, must spend at least 1 action a week on inventing or experimenting. In exchange Unshackle Your Inspiration!
___________
Doctor Infinium
***
You the contracted will create a device with a complexity rating of at least 30 points.In exchange, pick a scientific effect of T5 or less. Forevermore you may incorporate it for one third of its usual cost.
_________________
Code:
To gain MD Old Bones' attention you need to spend 20 consecutive AP practicing medicine to help people.
At least a professional level of medical skill (3 in general + 3 in a specialty) is required. Fortunately you already possess such.
It must be done altruistically. No payment or favors may be accepted.
MD Old Bones
****
First, do no harm upon your patients.In exchange you gain supernaturally increased emotional resilience.
______________
MD Old Bones
***
You the contracted will perform an act of medicine beyond peak human capability.In exchange, so long as you are fully mentally and physically healthy, the effectiveness of your medical endeavors will be enhanced.
______________
Code:
To gain Professor Tweed's attention you will need to personally mentor someone up to a professional level (3+3) in a skill which they then go on to use in a professional capacity.
The student must not have had any significant preexisting level of skill in the subject. (max level of 1)
This teaching must be done purely for the sharing of knowledge. Not payment or favors.
Professor Tweed
**
You, the contracted, must spend at least 1 action a week on teaching. In exchange, you may make simple illusions for the purpose of teaching aids.
___________
Code:
To gain Steve's attention you need to spend at least 10 AP to build something of at least Small Building size.
You must then destroy what you built using explosives before it is observed, except by yourself.
At least a professional level (3 in general + 3 in a specialty) of artistic skill (Precision) or applicable scientific skill is required.
Adhoc vote count started by JayTar on Feb 22, 2024 at 7:58 PM, finished with 17 posts and 8 votes.
[X] Plan: Evil Genius
-[X] Leviathan Grimm -[X] Female
-[X] Leviathan is an archetypal mad scientist. A megalomaniac beyond compare, with the amount of morals you would find in a goldfish. Luckily for others, Leviathan has a very strong code of ethics that is followed to the letter in every situation. -[X] The Dominion of Tom
[X] Plan: Unethical experiments for the sake of a wonderful future.
-[X] Adam Moonlit
-[X] Male
-[X] Proud, Manipulative, Dreamy, Altruistic. -[X] The Dominion of Tom
[X] Plan King of Games
-[X] Seto Erebos
-[X] Male
-[X] Proud and confident, he has a supreme confidence in his skills which belies his faith in that which is most important to him.
-[X] The Free City of Match
[X] Plan Perfect Justice
-[X] Akemi Photia -[X] Female
-[X] Her cold and unassuming demeanour hides an inextinguishable ember in her heart which burns at the sight of the unfairness present in the world.
-[X] Team Sparkle Unity Protectorate
[X] Plan: Evil Genius
-[X] Leviathan Grimm
-[X] Female
-[X] Leviathan is an archetypal mad scientist. A megalomaniac beyond compare, with the amount of morals you would find in a goldfish. Luckily for others, Leviathan has a very strong code of ethics that is followed to the letter in every situation.
-[X] The Dominion of Tom
Character Creation - 2
Looking down from the skybridge your only thought is how small the city is. Little ants scurry about in their little lives. Gnat-like robots buzz to and fro. Even shining buildings reflect only pale grandeur.
Beyond the skyscrapers. Beyond the not at all imposing 500 meter tall statute of the city's founder. Beyond the teal blue force field which keeps out those damnable corrosive dust storms.
You see only possibility. After you've crushed this city beneath your heel you will make your own city. No, you will make three! Each more magnificent then this dust pit.
"Um excuse me Miss, you are blocking the walkway."
You scoff and walk- no stalk away. Ignoring the meaningless prattle of those left behind. So what if they lack your vision? So what if they lack your drive?
That imbecile of a psychologist declared you "Only possessing a clockwork replica of a conscience"? The nerve! How dare he accuse you of having a conscience! All your decisions were perfectly logical.
Most people are just short sighted fools who can't see beyond their noses. You'll show them. You'll show them all!
Let them learn to fear the name LEVIATHAN GRIMM!
Every skill level adds a dice which you roll against the difficulty of the situation, or the roll of an opponent.
The size of your dice starts as a d6, and will increase by 1 for every 10 point of effective Weight you get.
Skills are split into "General skills" and "Specialty skills". General skills represent a broad area of knowledge, while a specialty represents a more specific subset. For example, knowing how to fight falls under "Combat", and knowing how to fight with a gun would fall under "Combat (Firearm)".
For example, if you have Performance 3, and Performance (Singing) 4, you would roll 7d6 to entertain a crowd with your singing.
Note: Certain actions require one level of a specialty to function, regardless of how high the general skill is. For example: Vehicle handling (Automobile) would be required to drive a car, no matter how high your Vehicle handling skill is.
The costs for each skill level are:
general 1: 10
general 2: 25
general 3: 125
general 4: 625
general 5: 3,125
Combat (Represents your skill and ability in combat)
-Unarmed
-Improvised
-Sword
-Firearm
Athletics (Represents your ability to use your body for highly physically intensive tasks)
-Running
-Swimming
Perception (Represents your ability to notice important details.)
-Body language
-People's movements
-Crime scene
Precision (Used for high finesse manual tasks. Non combat. Includes most types of hand crafts.)
-Disarm security (Includes lockpicking, bomb defusing, tripwire bypass, etc)
-Forgery
-Slight of hand
-Wood carving
-Blacksmith
Social knowledge (Combined with oratory arts. Represents both knowledge of social customs, and ability to speak or appeal to people.)
-Comedy
-Public speech
-Rhetoric
-Fiction
Organizational knowledge (Ability to work bureaucracy, organizations, or other power structures)
-Republic laws
-AI administrator protocols
Mental fortitude (Represents your ability to resist stress, trauma or foreign mental influence)
-Resisting mental pain
-Resisting physical pain
-Noticing manipulation
Performance (Represents your ability to put on a show or influence people's perception of you via non verbal cues)
-Stealth
-Lying
-Acting
-Singing
Academics (Includes history and other non-scientific pursuits of study)
-History
-Gods
Science (Used for development and crafting of technologies)
-Mechanical engineering
-Biology
-High energy physics
-Light
-Architecture
-Chemistry
-Materials science
-Computer Science
Strategy and tactics (Used for commanding armies)
-Siege warfare
Medicine (Used for fixing or managing injuries)
-Surgery
-Pharmacology
-Therapy
Naturalism (Animal handling + Survival. Used for surviving in difficult environments, or dealing with nature)
-Animal farming.
-Plant farming
-Oceanic harvesting
-Riding
-Foraging
Vehicle handling (Used for the operation of vehicles)
-Automobile
-Plane
-Boat
-Bike
-Mech
Teaching (Used for teaching others)
-Tutoring
-Lecturing
Weight is a measure of the metaphysical weight of your existence. You gain Weight by preforming acts of renown, or by signing contracts.
Weight is represented by dots called Weight dots. 1 dot raises your Effective Weight by 1 until it reaches 10, then 2 dots are needed to raise it by 1 until it reaches 20, at which point 3 are needed until it reaches 30, etc
All humans start with a baseline of 1 weight dot.
Having weight provides a broad range of improvements including but not limited to:
Each point of Effective Weight grants 1 HP.
Each 5 points of Effective Weight grant 1 AP.
Every 5 points of Effective Weight increases the size of the dice used for skill training by 1.
Every 10 points of Effective Weight increases the size of the dice used for skill use by 1.
Every 15 points of Effective Weight give an extra dice per roll during skill training.
Your wealth level is abstracted. It will go up in tiers:
Very Poor
Poor
Low
Decent
High
Very High
Legendary
Small State Budget
Rich State Budget
Empire Budget
Each tier has 10 dots, and upon getting an eleventh, you go up a tier. Only the tier of wealth you are in and the one below it will be marked.
Significant expenses cost you dots. Each time you go up a tier, anything two tiers below gets ignored as insignificant.
Thus: 4 dots in Decent and 2 in Low will be written as Decent 4.2
A sufficiently large number of insignificant expenses may be aggregated into a significant expense.
By default you have:
2 parents.
1 sibling.
Decent living accommodation which costs 1 decent dot per turn to maintain.
A decent part time job which provides 1 decent dots per turn. Needs 3 AP per turn to maintain.
Savings of 5 Decent dots.
You start with one Merit by default. Any additional Merits must be purchased by taking a Detriment.
Merits:
-[] Starting weight. Start with +2 weight due to notable past actions. Small seemingly, but the earliest weight is the hardest.
-[] Talented (Skill). Pick a skill to start with a training multiplier of 1.3x in a skill. May be taken up to three times.
-[] Prodigy. Requires Talented. Upgrades training multiplier of chosen skill to 2x.
-[] Well off. Instead of starting with 5 decent dots start with 5 high dots.
-[] Connections. You have either one moderately important contact, or several less important ones. Specifics to be determined in a later vote. Cannot be taken with No support network.
Detriments:
-[] Debts. Significant debts hang over your head. To the order of 5 high dots, though other payment options may be available.
-[] Dust poor. Instead of starting with 5 decent dots and a basic job start with 5 poor dots and no job.
-[] No support network. Your family will be distant or non-existent. Nor will you have any friends or acquaintances willing to help. Can't be taken with Connections.
-[] Useless skill (Skill). Start with a training multiplier of 0.8x in a skill. May be taken up to twice.
-[] A grudge. Someone somewhere, you have given cause to hate your guts.
Skills:
You may select 2 general skills to start at level 3, and with a specialty at of 3 of your choice.
If you chose the Talented merit, any skill you chose to be talented also starts at 3 and you may chose a specialty for it.
If you chose the Useless Skill merit you may not select it as one of your level 3 skills.
You may select 4 general skills to start at level 2, each with a specialty at 2.
-[] Level 2 skills:
--[] Skill (Specialty)
--[] Skill (Specialty)
--[] Skill (Specialty)
--[] Skill (Specialty)
You may select 5 general skills to start at level 1, each with a specialty at 1.
-[] Level 1 skills:
--[] Skill (Specialty)
--[] Skill (Specialty)
--[] Skill (Specialty)
--[] Skill (Specialty)
--[] Skill (Specialty)
[] Plan Stand up Comedian
-[] Talented (Social knowledge). Pick a skill to start with a training multiplier of 1.3x in a skill. May be taken up to three times.
-[] Connections. You have either one moderately important contact, or several less important ones. Specifics to be determined in a later vote. Cannot be taken with No support network.
-[] Debts. Significant debts hang over your head. To the order of 5 high dots, though other payment options may be available.
-[] Level 3 skills:
--[] Social knowledge (Comedy)
--[] Performance (Acting)
--[] Precision (Slight of hand)
-[] Level 2 skills:
--[] Perception (Body language)
--[] Mental fortitude (Resisting mental pain)
--[] Vehicle handling (Automobile)
--[] Academics (Gods)
-[] Level 1 skills:
--[] Combat (Improvised)
--[] Athletics (Running)
--[] Organizational knowledge (Republic laws)
--[] Science (Chemistry)
--[] Teaching (Tutoring)
AN: Writing Leviathan is going to be fun. I might have to add an "Unreliable narrator" warning.
Please vote by plan. Due to the added complexity of this vote I will likely keep it open for at least 72 hours.
Since the voting seems to have cooled down, I have set it to close at the 72 hour mark: Feb 25, 2024 at 8:00 PM
The votes are currently tied. If you haven't voted yet, now is a good time.
Meanwhile for everyone, what are your thoughts regarding Leviathan's appearance? Feel free to throw in suggestions.
Scheduled vote count started by JayTar on Feb 22, 2024 at 8:00 PM, finished with 41 posts and 8 votes.
[X] Plan Bootstraps Charismatic Surgeon
-[X] Merits:
--[X] Talented (Science). Pick a skill to start with a training multiplier of 1.3x in a skill. May be taken up to three times.
--[X] Prodigy (Science). Requires Talented. Upgrades training multiplier of chosen skill to 2x.
--[X] Talented (Medicine). Pick a skill to start with a training multiplier of 1.3x in a skill. May be taken up to three times.
--[X] Talented (Social knowledge). Pick a skill to start with a training multiplier of 1.3x in a skill. May be taken up to three times.
--[X] Connections. You have either one moderately important contact, or several less important ones. Specifics to be determined in a later vote. Cannot be taken with No support network.
-[X] Detriments:
--[X] Useless skill (Strategy and tactics). Start with a training multiplier of 0.8x in a skill. May be taken up to twice.
--[X] Useless skill (Combat). Start with a training multiplier of 0.8x in a skill. May be taken up to twice.
--[X] Debts. Significant debts hang over your head. To the order of 5 high dots, though other payment options may be available.
--[X] Dust poor. Instead of starting with 5 decent dots and a basic job start with 5 poor dots and no job.
-[X] Level 3 skills:
--[X] Science (Biology)
--[X] Medicine (Surgery)
--[X] Social Knowledge (Rhetoric)
--[X] Performance (Acting)
--[X] Perception (Body language)
-[X] Level 2 skills:
--[X] Organizational knowledge (AI administrator protocols)
--[X] Mental Fortitude (Noticing Manipulation)
--[X] Naturalism (Foraging)
--[X] Athletics (Running)
-[X] Level 1 Skills
--[X] Combat (Firearm)
--[X] Precision (Sleight of hand)
--[X] Vehicle handling (Bike)
--[X] Academics (Gods)
--[X] Teaching (Tutoring)
[X] Plan: Professor Ekhidna
-[X] Merits:
--[X] Talented (Science). Pick a skill to start with a training multiplier of 1.3x in a skill. May be taken up to three times.
--[X] Prodigy (Science). Requires Talented. Upgrades training multiplier of chosen skill to 2x.
--[X] Well off. Instead of starting with 5 decent dots start with 5 high dots.
--[X] Starting weight. Start with +2 weight due to notable past actions. Small seemingly, but the earliest weight is the hardest.
--[X] Talented (Naturalism). Pick a skill to start with a training multiplier of 1.3x in a skill. May be taken up to three times.
-[X] Detriments:
--[X] A grudge. Someone somewhere, you have given cause to hate your guts.
--[X] Useless skill (Perception). Start with a training multiplier of 0.8x in a skill. May be taken up to twice.
--[X] Useless skill (Precision). Start with a training multiplier of 0.8x in a skill. May be taken up to twice.
--[X] No support network. Your family will be distant or non-existent. Nor will you have any friends or acquaintances willing to help. Can't be taken with Connections.
-[X] Level 3 skills:
--[X] Science (Biology)
--[X] Naturalism (Animal farming)
--[X] Medicine (Surgery)
--[X] Performance (Intimidation)
-[X] Level 2 skills:
--[X] Athletics (Running)
--[X] Teaching (Lecturing)
--[X] Social knowledge (Public speech)
--[X] Mental fortitude (Resisting mental pain)
"Haha! Hey, hey Levi! Sis! Come have a look at this!" Entering your Cube you find yourself confronted by a particular nexus of annoyance. Your brother, Jörmungandr (No I won't call you Norman) Grimm.
"Hello dearest brother. Abusing family permissions again?" Technically he was not in your Cube this time. He just moved his Cube to be directly adjacent to yours and then directed the modular walls to lower.
"Hehe it's not my fault if you didn't change the settings~"
DC: Trivial
Auto pass
You immediately pull out your phone, navigate to the habitation settings menu, find the relevant option and switch it from "Allowed" to "Request permission first".
"Now was there a reason for your intrusion? Or shall I evict you."
"What I can't just come visit my darling little sis?" He smiles guilelessly with that punchable face of his.
Your finger hovers over the button to reset the walls.
"Wait wait. Okay. Come look at this." He waves his hands and points to the holographic monitor on his desk.
This had better not be one of his stupid jokes. You cautiously walk over, pausing for only a moment at the boundary line between rooms. On the monitor loops a short clip from a news broadcast of some sort. You watch an average looking man walk down the street. Suddenly he falls apart into a pile of vegetables. Watching closely, for a split second he seems to be both simultaneously. Like an optical illusion.
"I don't see what is funny about this."
"It's not really funny at all. It's rather disturbing honestly." He says still smiling. It looks hollow. "It's well, it's a cautionary tale. Contracts are dangerous business. Never forget that."
"You think you can scare me away with some deplorable tale?" You hadn't mentioned your plans to your brother. He had figured it out anyway. He was annoying like that.
"No. I know you are aiming for the big leagues. I can't stop you and wouldn't if I could. All I can do is help where I can." He reaches over and assaults your hair with one of his hands.
"Unhand me you foul monkey!" You pout glower.
"Hehe I'm going to be so proud of my little sis!"
"Cease your pointless blathering!"
"Make me!"
"Why you-!"
After your brother was fairly and justly reprimanded in a manner fully befitting of your dignity you returned to your Cube and reset the walls.
The faint hum of the hover rails moving your Cube to a more favorable location forms a backdrop as you examine the item you appropriated from your brother. A memory stick.
Plugging it in and checking the readme, you find a short message from your brother.
"Hey sis, just some links to get you started!"
Below are a collection of Archive links to various informational resources related to contracting. Nothing specific to any gods, but a good general overview with adequate data. As good as could be expected from publicly available sources.
You don't sulk.
At the very least this will save the few minutes it would have taken to find these on your own. You knew you tolerated your brother for some reason.
The only thing left was to decide how you were going to take on the world.
First you must research the god. Dedicated research can give information on the god, and what contracts they offer.
Every god has some set of non-trivial actions that must be done to draw their attention. The exact difficulty depends on the god and the situation, but most gods will require multi-turn effort to contact.
Once you have done enough research and drawn their attention, they will appear to you in a vision, and offer you their first contract.
Contractor's name: name of the god this contract belongs to.
Stars: the Total Weight you gain by the act of signing it. Also affects consequences of breaking it or failing it.
Black/white means you must adhere to what is written to the letter. Blue means you must adhere it to the spirit.Red means your nature will fundamentally change according to the letter of the contract.Purple means your nature will fundamentally change according to the spirit of the contract.Green means that you have to fulfill the conditions, to the letter, and then you get to enjoy the benefits with no further cost.Yellow means that you have to fulfill the conditions, and then you get to enjoy the benefits with no further cost.
Signature: empty until you accept, then has your name.
Yellow and Green contracts do not provide weight until they have been completed.
If you break a contract:
1) You lose all benefits it granted, including the Total Weight you gained from it.
2) You lose additional Total Weight equal to the Total Weight it initially granted. If you say break a 2 star contract, you will lose 4 weight in total. Having your Weight reduced to 0 kills you.
3) If the contract has a cost, you are still affected by its cost for turns equal to (Contract stars^2) turns. So a 1 dot contract affects you for 1 turn, a 2 dot contract for 4, a 3 dot contract for 9, etc. The god in question has some degree of influence over how exactly the cost expresses.
4) Immediately take (Stars+1)d(Stars+3) damage. So 2d4 for a 1 star contract. 3D5 for a 2 star. Etc. If your HP is reduced to zero you die or get hit by consequences of the god's choice. (Not necessarily death, it depends on the god. But even if it isn't quest-wrecking, expect massive issues)
5) You make the god angry. Exact reaction depends on the god. Most will refuse any future contracts. Some may send their followers after you or invest time/energy in trying to kill you.
If a god breaks a contract with you, you keep all the benefits, can lose the costs, and gain the weight you would have lost via breaking it. This also hurts the god in question.
The social consequences depend entirely on the situation. If it was your fault the god broke the contract they will likely be extremely angry. If it was not, reasonable gods will not be angry and may even apologize.
Contracts may also be ended by mutual agreement by both parties. You lose all benefits and costs, with no further consequences.
Each turn you have a number of AP and TAP determined by your weight. You start with 10 AP, and gain +1 per 5 weight. Your TAP is 1+AP/3.
Each turn AP may be spent to take actions, and TAP may be spent do to do training.
TAP may be assigned in the format of:
-[] Skill training (Trainer) (Skill or Skill (Specialty)) (x TAP)
Each TAP spent rolls a number and type of dice dependent on your weight, and grants you that much exp to the chosen skill or specialty. Using a trainer increases this number of dice. Using good facilities may increase the size of the dice.
By default these dice are 3d3 per TAP.
The exp gained is multiplied by your training rate before it is applied.
So for example:
-[] Skill training (Jörmungandr Grimm) (Social knowledge) (3 TAP)
Would result in rolling (3+3)d3 * 3 = 18d3 dice.
Say the dice are rolled and the sum is 31. You then gain 31*1.3= 40.3= 40 exp to Social knowledge.
Turn actions:
You have 4 TAP and 10 AP:
Current assets:
5 poor dots.
1 Basic Habitation Cube.
The clothes on your back.
A box of your old school junk.
Current expenses:
Debt repayment - 1 decent dot per turn. ERROR CREDITS NOT FOUND
Nutrient paste - 1 poor dot per turn.
Training:
Available trainers:
Jörmungandr Grimm: Can train Organizational knowledge (AI administrator protocols) and Social knowledge (???) along with their respective general skills. Provides +3 dice.
Format:
-[] Skill training (Trainer) (Skill or Skill (Specialty)) (x TAP)
Money:
[] Find a job. You desperately need money. It's going to suck. Maybe there some other solution you can figure out? (2 AP)
[] Food: You aren't technically starving. But eating only nutrient paste long term is going to cause problems. Figure out a solution. (2 AP)
[] Loan: Your finances are dire. You need to figure out what is going on with your loan, before something much worse happens. (1 AP)
Social:
[] Family: As annoying as your brother is, maybe you should see what he is up to? (3 AP)
[] Old man Jack: Near the entrance to your Habitation block sits a old man. He sits there all day, always preforming some sort of hand craft. Whittling. Knitting. You should go give him a peace of your mind about such a shameful display! (3 AP)
Personal:
[] Lab. Science. You need it. It will be a tight fit, but you should be able to squeeze the bare basics into your Cube. If you cut a few corners. Cost: 5 2 Poor dots. Gain poor quality lab. Reveal crafting rules. (1 AP)
Exploration:
[] Explore the city: The city contains many strange wonders. Some are even useful. Go out and find them. (2 AP)
[] Dive deeper: Beneath the city there are countless forgotten places. Some may even contain treasures. Go out and find them (3 AP)
Gods Research. Roll Academics (Gods) to learn more about the god and what contracts they offer:
[] Doctor Infinium – The Mad scientist. The obvious choice. You just need to review your notes. You know you left them here somewhere. (1 AP)
[] Professor Tweed – The Teacher. Hmph. Probably a waste of time. (4 AP)
[] Steve – The Builder. Dispute the unfortunate association with (ugh) manual labor, you can see the merit in a god of building grand works. (4 AP)
[] MD Old Bones - The Physician. A medical doctor is still a doctor you suppose. (4 AP)
[] Perhaps there are some other gods you could look into? (4 AP)
You have no use for second rate gods.
[] Write in. Perhaps there is something else? (?? AP)
AN: The very first turn! Vote by plan. Ask any questions!
Haven't forgotten the Connections, hopefully will work it in organically in the next few updates.
