[X] Plan: Age of ignorance and eyes in the dark
-[X] Copper Tools: The beginnings of smelting had been developed and the basics of large scale governance and agriculture has been
-[X] No Awareness: Let humanity be born ignorant and form their own thoughts and religions. Let them serve as the basis of new legends to use in the future.
-[X] Let the Nightmares loose into the world. A trial for the mortals to overcome in the future.
This gives us a group of people who can create legends effectively and gives a large stick for when something inevitably goes wrong
Edit: on second thought I think hungry nightmares in the dark sound really cool and I want to see how strong a legend we can make
I will say things going wrong is actually incredible breeding ground for new legends to rise up.
And the danger of events going wrong will certainly spike World Activity and Death rate netting a good harvest of essence.
A creator can literally create billions of humans for free so don't worry about mass extinctions. Heck reincarnation means that the souls themselves are just going to be reborn.
No matter what happens there will be at least 2 Elder Gods that are prepping to go Outer God so there is nothing present that would actually provide permanent harm to the World. So a chance for Game Over is unlikely. Worst case is set backs towards achieving the goal but I doubt the players will be aiming to speed run things.
[X] Plan: Age of ignorance and monsters in the dark
-[X] Stone Age Farmers: Still utilizing stone tools but now they know the basics of farming and building permanent structures.
-[X] No Awareness: Let humanity be born ignorant and form their own thoughts and religions. Let them serve as the basis of new legends to use in the future.
-[X] Let the Nightmares loose into the world. A trial for the mortals to overcome in the future.
Would rather we start off with Copper so any religions that forms has an easier time spreading, but I agree with the other choices.
[] Plan: Beginning of history
-[] Copper Tools: The beginnings of smelting had been developed and the basics of large scale governance and agriculture has been
-[] No Awareness: Let humanity be born ignorant and form their own thoughts and religions. Let them serve as the basis of new legends to use in the future.
-[] Let the Nightmares loose into the world. A trial for the mortals to overcome in the future.
Would rather we start off with Copper so any religions that forms has an easier time spreading, but I agree with the other choices.
[] Plan: Beginning of history
-[] Copper Tools: The beginnings of smelting had been developed and the basics of large scale governance and agriculture has been
-[] No Awareness: Let humanity be born ignorant and form their own thoughts and religions. Let them serve as the basis of new legends to use in the future.
-[] Let the Nightmares loose into the world. A trial for the mortals to overcome in the future.
[ ] Have the Nightmares be brought under control.
[ ] Copper Tools: The beginnings of smelting had been developed and the basics of large scale governance and agriculture has been
[ ] Some Awareness: Knowledge of the gods and their portfolios and some knowledge on signs we can use to send down directives.
I like a little order, but i could be convinced to change things, other than copper
[X] The Age of civilization and Worship
-[X] Copper Tools: The beginnings of smelting had been developed and the basics of large scale governance and agriculture has been
-[X] Total Awareness: Instill knowledge of the entire cosmos, the gods, and the purpose to which the mortals have been born.
[X] Plan: Age of ignorance and eyes in the dark
-[X] Copper Tools: The beginnings of smelting had been developed and the basics of large scale governance and agriculture has been
-[X] No Awareness: Let humanity be born ignorant and form their own thoughts and religions. Let them serve as the basis of new legends to use in the future.
-[X] Let the Nightmares loose into the world. A trial for the mortals to overcome in the future.
Let the humans come up with their own mythologies. I want to see what wild stuff they come up with.
[X] Plan: Age of ignorance and eyes in the dark
-[X] Copper Tools: The beginnings of smelting had been developed and the basics of large scale governance and agriculture has been
-[X] No Awareness: Let humanity be born ignorant and form their own thoughts and religions. Let them serve as the basis of new legends to use in the future.
-[X] Let the Nightmares loose into the world. A trial for the mortals to overcome in the future.
Realized that the elves are going to be a bit more advantaged with them getting bronze age tech this early, so going to scale back to Hunter Gatherers. Shifting nightmares to servants because we'll need them to help people survive.
[X] Plan Dreamily Hunting
-[X] Have the Nightmares be brought under control.
-[X] Hunter-Gatherers: The basic knowledge of who they are and how to live in the world, which plants are edible and how to hunt and how to craft stone tools.
-[X] No Awareness: Let humanity be born ignorant and form their own thoughts and religions. Let them serve as the basis of new legends to use in the future.
Plan: Age of ignorance and eyes in the dark]
-[X] Copper Tools: The beginnings of smelting had been developed and the basics of large scale governance and agriculture has been
-[X] No Awareness: Let humanity be born ignorant and form their own thoughts and religions. Let them serve as the basis of new legends to use in the future.
-[X] Let the Nightmares loose into the world. A trial for the mortals to overcome in the future.
New Legend!
Level 1: The Sea of Nightmares: Beneath the Earth, across the horizon they slumber. In the remotest regions of the world lies monsters born of horror and pain, ready to inflict ruin upon any that would stumble upon them and give them form.
Elorshin, [High Priest] and survivor of the five Eras opens his eyes and beholds a world far different from what he remembered.
The sun loomed overhead, its golden rays warming the forest. Absent a kaleidoscopic shine it revealed itself to not be Azoth, but something else. The elf breaths in the air and feels the world, trying to link to Azria, to the world, but finds nothing. No great looming almost suffocating presence making itself known. In fact he does not even feel the signs of linking to find nothing as has occurred with those who had fallen out of favor from the Great Mother. Yet despite it all he knows with inscrutable assurance that Azria still existed in some form. Which only meant one thing.
"A new world then. And no magic as well. They really did start over," he murmurs absently, luxuriating in the freedom of it.
"So it is true then, the gods plan to leave us," another voice some distance away, breaking Elorshin out from his calm. A part of him is tempted to ignore it, to go back to resting and enjoying the freedom from his Fate, as temporary as it was. Right now he is not the Fate Bound [High Priest] but a newly reborn elf, the vanguard of the new generation in the new Divine Era. The magic that allowed Fate Binding did not even exist anymore.
Unfortunately the choice is taken away from him when he hears footsteps pad closer to him and a rude foot nudges his side.
"Hey? Is it true? Hey?" the other elf barks, a young one given by the gruff mannerisms. The natural reserve the elves had been known for was born form their extreme age, and not anything about their nature. Indeed Elorshin found the elven youth to be even more aggravating that humans.
"It is quite rude to kick your elders," the former leader of the Elves says as he forces himself up and pulls himself to a standing position.
"Elder? We're all newborn here! So things are equal, scripture says so," the young elf haughtily boasts.
"Half the thing were made up," Elorshin says flatly, indeed he had made up a good quarter of it. Making things religious dogma had a way of making sure future generations did not repeat certain mistakes.
"Wha…you…you blasphemer," the man, boy really probably barely an ages old, born during the cataclysms that heralded an Era's Apotheosis, sputters out in outrage.
"Elder Elorshin," one of the other Elves who had stood in a father part of the clearing, watching over the several hundred still slumbering within the shadowed glade. The ageless nature of the elves combined with mastery of magic ensured that his formed remained immutable to the ravages of nature.
"E…Elorshin," the youth sputters out as the other elf gives a deep bow towards the current Eldest of the Elves.
Elorshin mentally sighs as many more awoken elves gravitate towards him and like a fool he would naturally take up the reins of leadership, to guide his people, when he just wanted to rest.
New Legend!
Level 1: The Remnants of the Old: The first generation of the Elves are reincarnated souls from the previous Era. And though the mastery of magic they boasted of is rendered useless they are still fonts of knowledge gathered over many a era.
Observing the Elves you see them begin to scatter as the years go by. A singular leader, an Elder, gathers close to a hundred followers and moves away from where they awoke up in. Though lush with life and resources and thus perfect for starting civilization the Elves choose to instead live the life of nomadic hunter gatherers. They readily make tools from wood and stone and master the environment around them to live simple lives.
They leave in groups in every which way until the home glade of the Elves is empty, the elves having taken care to ensure they left no permanent mark .
"Hmph they don't take my gifts, but I suppose scattering is a great idea to ensure that one major disaster doesn't wipe everyone out. But did they really have to reject me so?" Azria complains.
"You have always been smothering Azria," Azmus remarks as he appears besides you, idly reaching out to harvest the souls of a few elves that are unlucky enough to be caught off guard by some hazard or another.
"At least until you push them over a cliff and tell them to fly or die," Azoth adds cheerfully.
"They are my children, I only wish the best for them," she huffs.
Not wanting to get embroiled in that you turn your focus to the other mortal race in the world, the humans. They have awoken in their cave alight with knowledge of how to live and they do so readily. This first generation is nearly omnicompetent as they seem to rapidly organize together to build the beginnings of a city, as the vast fertile lasts beyond the great cave are tamed and turned into farms while primitive mines begin to be dug within the caverns for either stone to build or ore to smelt.
Azria's work is clear as the assortment of knowledge and personalities all mesh together to form a singular machine that rapidly establishes humanity in their great city. A civilization that you know would have been impossible for humans if they developed naturally. A least a civilization with their level of technology. It will fade in time, your insight and knowledge tells you.
The second generation, raised under the influence of the first, continue on the eerie unity and harmony of their grand city. It is them who begin the culture of people. The first were closer to human machines, programmed for their part and the lack of any spiritual knowledge meant that such thoughts were put aside while they worked to establish their city. Thus the second generation, in their childhood, devise the stories and with time those stories become the foundational myths of the people. And while their are dozens of stories shared between them, they all share several commonalities.
Humanity is the child of Mother Earth and Father Sun, and the dark cave they were born into being the world's womb. The first generation were so great because they were all demigods and thus their children would inevitably be lesser than them. In ages to come the first generation will be deified in some form as the divine fathers and mothers of humanity. And their purpose in life? To tame the surface world and master the world. The gifts of stone and metal were the gifts of their mother and the life of the surface were their to tame. It was their divine duty to bring it all under cultivation.
The third generation is what makes these idle stories and tellings into the seeds of proper civilization, and it is that which allows them to maintain their unity even as the first age begins to perish of old age, and return to their mother's embrace in their stories. Population grows explosively and the new humans work to spread their domain, expanding their great city. Yet the influence of the first begins to wane at last as, by the time that the third takes power, the first have all but been processed. Their reincarnations show themselves to bear a spark of their remarkable competence, to the point of allowing the discovery and usage of bronze, but that serves to only exacerbate the divisions of the third generation, but sheer inertia and well thought out social policies keeps the city united.
Yet that does nothing to stop the build up of divisions and when the fourth generation comes to power, they bring with them the grievances and flaws of the third generation atop their own rising desires. This time it is beyond the systems of the First City to contain.
The time of peace, where the First City is not to last it seems and the first crisis point is reached.
"Ah the first crisis point,." Azria states, eyes gleaning with the satisfaction of a goddess of Fate and Order having things go exactly to plan.
"Though you did go overboard with your design," Azmus adds.
"Rather boring though, but I guess the lead up to the end is worth it. Oh this has the potential for so much chaos!" Azoth cheers.
"That is if our young god here decides to let it. The destruction by civil war could be preempted" Azmus muses.
"Well then, young Demiurge what is it that you want to do?" Azria asks.
"Oh! Don't forget the other stuff too," Azoth reminds.
"We have a full schedule it seems," Azmus observes.
Points in the history where civilization reaches a tipping point and the point where legends can be allowed to coalesce. But Legends require some level of divine involvement in them. Mundane events, no matter their scale, cannot catalyze the growth of such things.
Intervention can lead to new legends rising or old ones, if involved in some way, to level up.
Essence: 100+6=106
Acts: Every Divine Gains 1 Act and all Acts have an associated essence Cost. Please take that into account when occurring.
[ ] [Azmus]:
[ ] [Azoth]:
[ ] [Azria]:
Timeline: Fate provides knowledge of events to come. Things that will come to pass.
Turn 2: Crisis Event: Fall of the First City
–Relations between the million strong humans of the City begin to break down as clans fight against clans, ending with their precious civilization fragmented and the losers of the conflict fleeing into the wilderness.
Turn 3: Azria Event:
–She demands a magic system be implemented. Particularly one that would be of good use to the scattered Elves. If you do not accede to her demands, lose access to her actions until you do so.
Turn 4: Outsider Event:
–The Demon Market comes to establish connections.
Turn 5: Azria, Azmus, Azoth Event: The Decision
–The time has come, choose who you wish to replace. Assume their mantle.
An: Still trying to refine the system.
Anyway reminder that gods can only act within their domains.
Azmus: Death, Destruction, Time
Azoth: Creation, Chaos, Dreams
Azria: Fate, Order, Life
If you have no idea I can give suggestions, just to help move things along.
A crystal sphere that forms a bubble the size of a solar system. It serves as boundary between the chaos of the Outer Night and the ordered reality within. It is also the physical form of the Afterlife.
An unnamed planet the size of a star. It is largley hollow, with great caverns that could swallow entire worlds dotting it all. Its surface is largley ocean save for five continents whose normal size makes them absolutely minuscule within the surface. It is orbited by a shining satellite that outputs heat and light, the placeholder for a proper sun.
The five continents are an arrangement of 4 continents in the cardinal direction of a central continent. They are all rather equitorial in terms of environment, though with extreme geography to allow microcosms of other environments.
Plant and animal life are mundane standard in the Central continent but the life in the 4 other continents have been turned into bioengineered monstrous ecosystems.
Metaphysically above the world is the Dream Lands ruled by the Dream Gods who are influenced by myths and legends that the mortals tell.
Creation of Azria. In comparison to humans they are equal to the very best humanity has to offer in every physical endeavor, though intelligence is only slightly elevated. They are ageless and tend to heal without scarring leading to rather youthful looks.
Their first generation are all elves that managed to make it to the end of the previous Era and they carry on the knowledge of that era with them.
They have since ascended to become lesser gods of Life and Dream and dwell in the border regions of the Dream Lands
The baseline race. They were created alongside the elves, but their first generation were omnicompetent ubermensch rather than reincarnated survivors. Their refined genetics means that while confined to baseline standard their bodies are in the upper percentile of human potential, though that can degrade with the generations.
They live together in a singular massive city which is more a collection of palace plantation farms and mines, kept together through the intricate web of laws and agreements set up by the first generation when they first established their civilization.
They believe that they are the children of the Sun and Earth and that it is their divinley given mandate to master the world and bring all of the surface under cultivation under the gaze of their divine father.
As a people they value cooperation, communication, and hard work with a rather communal mindset. In terms of conflict they are rather naive as they have never once experienced large scale war of any kind and were kept from it from all the hard work required to build the city in the first place.
Legends
I. Level 4 - Struggle of Dominion: The 3 elder races were brought into the world to live and grow and eventually reach divinity and join their parent's side in the heaven. Yet only one can claim the throne set aside for them. Only the most fit is worthy of ascendance, and all the rest consigned to servitude.
Level 3 - Children of LIght and Dark: Three supreme gods reign in the heavens. The Goddess of Creation, Azria and her two consorts; Azoth, god of light and order, and Azmus, god of darkness and chaos. From each comes the three races of man. From Azria comes the Elves, divine in spirit and flesh. From Azoth comes humanity, wide spread and faithful. From Azmus comes the Rakshasa, evershifting and destructive. Yet there is no peace in this family for Azmus and Azoth vie for Azria's affection and their wars inevitable bring their children with them.
Level 2 - The Tide of Monsters: Bubbling up from the underground regions of the world are a seemingly endless sea of monsters. They are shed fragments of greater beasts that shake the world pillars with their fights against each other. And it is these fragments that flood the world and fill it with danger.
Level 1: The Sea of Nightmares: Beneath the Earth, across the horizon they slumber. In the remotest regions of the world lies monsters born of horror and pain, ready to inflict ruin upon any that would stumble upon them and give them form.
II.
Level 3 - The Fae: With the ascension of their patron goddess her demigod children too ascended, going past beings of flesh and soul to being of dream and soul. Reclusive gods of life and dream they dwell within the distant corners of the dream lands, breathing life into stagnant zones and weaving their own worlds and designs. Yet it is said that those who make it through their dreams can ask of them a boon and blessing.
Level 2 - Children of Life: The Elves are the chosen people of the ancient Goddess of Life and it shows. Each and every one of them bears a fragment of divinity aligned to life that only grows stronger as they age. Eventually an elf ceases to become a thing of flesh and blood and simply a spirit of life. Miracles of life are as simple to them as walking is for other mortals
Level 1: The Remnants of the Old: The first generation of the Elves are reincarnated souls from the previous Era. And though the mastery of magic they boasted of is rendered useless they are still fonts of knowledge gathered over many a era.
III.
Level 1 - The First City: Humanity was united once, they were all born from the same womb and were guided by the children of Earth and Sky. Yet that time is past, destroyed by the horrors of the depths, the jealous ill begotten children of the Earth. Yet many still dream of this paradisiacal time when men were all one tribe.
IV.
Level 1 - Legacy of the Sun: It is said that the first Goblin was a great being from another world, who was exiled into the deep darkness when his people betrayed him. HIs form shattered on the rock and from these fragments come the Goblins. The goddess Azur would come and nurse him back to life but found he had become too lesser to continue. In the end the Eldest would pass on, but would pass on his memories of the Sun. Thus the Goblins move ever onward, seeking to be more than they were even as they stumble across the dark.
V.
Level 5 - Hero of the Sun
VI.
VII.
VIII.
IX.
X.
Essence Generation: 9 x 1.4 x 2 = 25.2 Essence Per Turn
Population Death Rate: 5
+1 Baseline Human Population
-1 Massacre by the Tide of Monsters
+1 Kis Population Boom
-1 Azoth Immortality Blessing
+1 Raskhasa Infighting
+2 Death rate for Humans losing Immortality
+2 Death rate from Goblin Mortality
+1 Death rate from Elf War
+1 Death rate from Goblin Advance
Uplift someone to unite the people and ensure that the city does not collapse, work to allow for the peaceful dissolution of the kingdom into various city states.
And it does not have to be saving the city.
Creating or pushing another event to destroy the city before the civil war causes it to collapse is also a viable intervention. Perhaps they dug too deep and awoke a nightmare and so the humans scattered and brought with them the tales of their lost homeland with dreams of slaying the Nightmare beast and reclaiming it.
Or simply delay, perhaps you want the issue to build to make things go further so you suppress the civil war for another couple of generations.
Intervention can come in many forms, though what legend, if any, forms form it depends on the response. Just remember that something needs to be spectacular to be worthy of a legend.
@Mannan , what would it cost in total to create some mystical weapon, have a "worthy soul" take it up, and defeat a monster that was unleashed upon the city? Revealing the existence of beasts beyond the city, giving a common enemy for the humans, and hopefully giving them a good king to lead them for awhile.
Maybe have it be a "Sword of Selection" deal like the Sword in the Stone.
Such a thing would be 2 actions.
Magic sword would be Unique, One Off Magical Thing and affects only an individual so it would be 3x1=3 Essence. So free for Azoth, though he would add his own twist to it.
Assuming you use a Nightmare to be the source of the monster, perhaps they dug too deep or one wandered up, would require a Fate action to push events into action and it is doable for Fate to arrange for a Hero to rise up. It would not be doing anything too unusual so it would be 1x1=1 Essence.
So free for Azria to do.
Such a thing would be 2 actions.
Magic sword would be Unique, One Off Magical Thing and affects only an individual so it would be 3x1=3 Essence. So essentially free for Azoth, though he would add his own twist to it.
Assuming you use a Nightmare to be the source of the monster, perhaps they dug too deep or one wandered up, would require a Fate action to push events into action and it is doable for Fate to arrange for a Hero to rise up. It would not be doing anything too unusual so it would be 1x1=1 Essence.
So free for Azria to do.
[] Plan: The First Hero.
-[] [Azoth]: Create a magical sword that can only be wielded by a "worthy hero/king" with at least some bias to those of a benevolent disposition. Make it so it will never lose sharpness or need maintenance. Also give it the power to fire scorching rays of radiant sunlight too, and a tendency to fly blade first into the nearest static object when it's current worthy wielder dies, preferably a big rock or tree it can wait inside until the next Worthy Hero/King comes along. And have some 10 extra Essence to play with in making your modifications to it.
-[] [Azria]: Weave a Fate where a Nightmare, one just strong to give a wielder of the sword Azoth makes a real challenge but still winnable, attacks the First City and causes some destruction and chaos before a Hero wielding the sword arrives and defeats it in an epic clash, and the Hero becoming a good king that unifies the people of the First City and keeps it stable for at least their lifetime.
-[] [Azmus]: Make sure the Nightmare actually dies when the Hero kills it, as some extra insurance. And try to give the Hero a relatively peaceful death when their time comes. Or a glorious one, if that's their preference in how they want to go.
Okay, here's my made at midnight in a rush plan, how's it look?