Basic Rules

Introduction, or What's going on here, anyway?

Lords of Creation (LoC for short) is a message board game. We are on a message board, and it is a game. That much should be obvious. As a player, you control a god - designed and role-played through your writing - in an epic collaborative storytelling experience. Together with the other players and their gods, you will shape a setting - create mortals, land, nations, concepts... whatever strikes your fancy. It should be stressed that the goal of this game - much like D&D, upon which it is loosely based - is not to 'win'. The goal is to weave an epic tale of gods and heroes and the forging of a world.

What separates LoC from a free-form RPG is that it has rules. The 'core mechanic' of the game - the Action Point, or AP - functions much like its namesake; the Action of many tabletop games. By spending AP, your god can shape the world to their whims... or bring ruin to the works of an enemy god.

The Core Mechanic- Action Points

Action Points are gained at each rollover, in a quantity based on your deity’s Divine Rank. A god may store AP equal to three times their weekly income. AP that would be gained over this threshold is lost irrevocably. These action points may be spent on Divine Actions, which are the primary means by which you can influence the setting.

Rollover occurs at 10:00 PM GMT on Thursday of each week.

Starting AP

Players begin the game with 7AP, as a Fledgling deity. Players begin accumulating AP normally at their first rollover.

Divine Rank Chart

Explanation: Rank Name: Self-explanatory, really. Weekly AP: This is the amount of AP the god accumulates each week at rollover. Maximum Infusions: This is the number of creations your god can have simultaneously infused with their divine essence through the Infuse Divinity action. Required Domains/Portfolios: This is the number of Domain/Portfolio pairs a god needs to achieve this rank. Upon reaching this number, a god immediately advances to this rank. No action is necessary beyond the gaining of the domains themselves.

Divine Actions

Variable AP Actions  The cost of a Variable AP action is equal to the Magnitude Rank, or MR, of the desired effect.

Create Life: Creates a new form of creature or race. These can range from MR1 (A player race) to MR5 (Epic and powerful creatures). This action does not organize the creatures it creates with any sort of society or government – use Form Organization for that. This action can also be used to create constructs, undead, spirits, or any other form of being – it need not strictly be life. Races created by this action cannot be completely eliminated or otherwise permanently removed from the game without the permission of the player who created them. They can however be harmed or aided by Bless or Curse actions.MR1: A ‘player race’ or similar species, with prowess roughly equal to an average human. MR2: Capable of completely inhuman accomplishments in at least one area. Their abilities are mostly within the realm of the natural. MR3: Equipped with attributes non-heroic humans could never hope to attain. Their abilities are often powerful and iconic, and blatantly supernatural in nature. MR4: Leagues beyond mundane and lesser beings in abilities and prowess. Their very nature is steeped in some great source of power, and their abilities are numerous and varied. MR5: Of a power level that can only be described as epic. Something of this magnitude does not simply wield power – it is power. The source of their awesome abilities is a fundamental and integral part of their existence, and they are far more in tune with it than they are with what could be called a ‘natural’ body.

Create Concept: This introduces a permanent new concept to a population. This can range from the mundane or simple with a MR1 effect (such as swordcraft) to the fantastical and magnificent of a MR5 effect (flying cities). If the ‘innovation’ in question is actually a creature – such as an Iron Golem, or a sophisticated android – use the Create Life action instead. Concepts introduced by this action may reach as small or wide an audience as the creator desires, ranging from a single individual to everyone in the world. A group cannot have a concept forcibly introduced if the player controlling it does not want it, and other player’s creations cannot ‘steal’ a created concept for themselves without the permission of the player who created it unless they also spend the AP to create the concept for their followers. Concepts introduced by this action may be affected by blesses, curses, or even the introduction of other concepts. This action should not be mistaken for a prerequisite of social advancement – a society needs no Create Concept to discover such things as slate roofing, silverware, a style of government, or other basics or trivialities. Nor do they need to be used to expand upon existing ideas unless the expansion differs significantly in power or concept. MR1: A largely mundane skill, craft, or tool, with capabilities that can be compared to our own middle ages or an equivalent era. MR2: A concept that, while still mostly comparable to mundane ancient ways, has minor supernatural elements – or a degree of sophistication that could be seen as such in a fantasy setting. MR3: A concept allowing for powerful feats or creations impossible without use of supernatural elements. MR4: A concept completely immersed in a source of power. The feats that can be accomplished with such power are numerous and varied, bound together by their shared nature and a common source. MR5: A concept of such power it can only be described as epic. A force of this magnitude is more than a simple method of harnessing something – it is a fundamental source of power in its own right, capable of incredible feats and vast diversity.

1AP Actions

Bless: Bless brings a beneficial effect to a targeted group. This effect can be absolutely anything imaginable, from something as simple as giving a land good harvests year after year to something as incredible as raising every soldier who died in a decades-long war. This action counters and is countered by Curse. Stacking multiple uses of Bless in the same effect does not make it any more powerful or wide-ranging, but it does make it more difficult to counter.

Curse: Curse brings a harmful effect to a targeted group. Other than being harmful, this action is identical to bless in functionality and versatility.

Alter Land: Alter Land warps an existing land into a different form of terrain. Mundane flora and fauna are assumed to die off and be replaced by such more suitable to the new climate, but beings created by Create Life are assumed to adapt reasonably well to their new conditions. Alter Land can be countered by another alter land.

On stacking effects:Stacking multiple uses of the above actions to bring about the same effect does not make it any more powerful or wide-ranging, but it does make it more difficult to counter – see countering effects below.

Raise Hero: Raises a mortal creature to heroic status. A Hero cannot be slain or otherwise removed from the game without the consent of the player who created them, nor targeted by Bless or Curse effects without the same.

Join Pantheon: Attune yourself to an existing Pantheon. Doing so instantly severs your ties to any pantheon you were previously attuned to.

2AP Actions

Form Organization: This action allows one to arrange their creations into groups more coherent than the simple hunter-gatherer tribes or roving monsters they default to. This can also be used to define notable sub-organizations into distinct entities.

Craft Artifact: Artifacts are individual items of power. Some are wielded by individual mortals, like a legendary blade of kings, while others fill more inventive roles. Artifacts do not have the power to actually function on the same scale as divinities – but they can have almost any abilities imaginable in the mortal realm.

Create Land: Raises new land to the world. Created land has whatever climate or biosphere the creator wishes, and contains any mundane flora and fauna that would fit that biome. This action can also be used to render inhabitable a section of otherwise-barren seafloor, carve out tunnels into bedrock, etc – it need not strictly be land. However, it cannot be used to change another player's land into a different sort of terrain – use the Alter Terrain action for that. An area created by this action cannot be removed or destroyed without the permission of the player who created it. Its nature can however be altered by the Alter Terrain action. The greatest quantity of land that can be created by this action at once is about three million square miles – or roughly the size of Australia. Players should remember that this is a maximum size, and it is encouraged to make smaller continents if such would better fit their concept.

Weave Plane: Draws forth a new plane of existence from the fabric of the world – important, as gods cannot set foot upon the Material itself, their own divine sparks barring them entry through forces even the greatest scholars cannot comprehend. A plane is a finite entity, almost never larger than the world itself and often smaller by a wide margin (though there is nothing strictly preventing a god from creating a larger realm, there is usually little reason to do so – infinite realms are however, impossible to sustain and may not be created by any deity). A god can create a plane with any sort of traits they desire, but once created the plane is a distinct entity – they exert no special control over it and it is in no way ‘divinely morphic’. Planes can be targeted by divine actions in a manner identical to the Material – both by their creator and others. Players are advised that the Create Plane actions is not designed to give them an impregnable fortress of power, but to create a realm of otherworldly wonder and a home of divinity.

Gather Pantheon: Forms the basis for a divine pantheon – though you need members to actually gain any benefit from it. See Pantheons below. Weave Plane: Draws forth a new plane of existence from the fabric of the world – important, as gods cannot set foot upon the Material itself, their own divine sparks barring them entry through forces none quite comprehend. A plane is a finite entity, and cannot be made infinite. Not even a god's potent energy is enough to sustain that. A god can create a plane with any sort of traits they desire, but once so set, they cannot be altered, and the divinely morphic trait does not allow you to alter your plane for free. Planes can be targeted by divine actions in a manner identical to the Material. Players are advised that the Create Plane actions are not designed to give them ultimate power within their plane, but rather to make an otherworldly realm for them and their creations.

3AP Actions

Gain Domain: The Gain Domain action allows a god to gain an additional domain and an accompanying portfolio element. The god must first have spent 7AP worth of AP on things related to the domain they wish to gain. The Gain Domain action may never be used to qualify for a domain, but any other action can be. Only AP gained from rollover or your starting AP counts - Pantheon AP never aids in qualifying for a domain.

Divine Infusion: A deity may greatly empower one of their creations by placing a fragment of their own essence into it. A god may only infuse a set number of creations at once, based on their divine rank. Each use of this ability counts against the limit, no matter the form you choose. A god may release an infusion at any time, freeing up a slot in their infusion pool (this does not destroy the infused entity, merely reverts it to its uninfused status).

Infusions:Infuse Hero (Exarch/Avatar): A tiny shard of divinity can raise an already mighty entity to something nearly a demigod in its own right. Some gods go so far as to turn those infused into little more than puppets dancing on divine strings – earthly avatars for their master to walk upon a world barred to them.

Infuse Artifact (Relic): Artifacts are mighty mortal instruments, but Relics are the tools of the gods. There is almost no limit to the powers a Relic may hold.

Infuse Terrain (Holy Land): Sinking a shard of divinity into the land itself, a god gives a land a measure of their own power, making them powerful manifestations of that god's will.

Infuse Organization (Mandate of Heaven): When a god nor merely creates an organization of his mortal followers but actually directly leads it, the Mandate of Heaven so given fills all within it with a passion. Such an organization often has access to supernatural aid if it needs it.

Infuse Plane (Realm of Divinity): Some gods almost become a part of their own realm. Not only do such realms reflect their masters, they actually respond to their active will in a fashion. This effect allow them to reshape their plane’s terrain essentially at will, however, any outside application of AP will override and suspend this effect until countered. . A divine realm is absolutely not a license to ‘bury’ any unwanted changes to a realm.  Infuse Race (Chosen People): Some races of mortal creatures have a special connection to the divine. A Chosen People need not necessarily be a single group – or even aware of their god’s favor. They often reflect their deity strongly in both form and powers.

Pantheons To form a pantheon, one deity must make the Gather Pantheon action. This god has admin rights to the pantheon, and has final say in how the pantheon’s AP may be used. Two other gods must join this pantheon framework for the pantheon to gain any benefits. A pantheon generates 1 bonus AP per two members, which may be used by any of the members of a pantheon. If the pantheon drops below three members, this AP ceases to function. This AP is renewed every Thursday - it does not roll over.

Countering Effects

Some effects in Lords of Creation can be counter by the application of the proper effect. Curses are countered by blesses and vice versa. One application of alter land can be countered by another. If multiple actions were used to create one effect, then all those actions must be countered for the effect to end.

It is possible to reinforce an effect that has been countered in a similar manner, essentially ‘counter-countering’ the effects that are nullifying the stacks of the active effect. Like any counter, these need not be from the god who originated the effect.

Randomized Conflict Resolution Players are encouraged to negotiate out any conflicts that arise. Should this fail, the players may either seek mod arbitrating and/or may roll randomly to determine the outcome. Such random resolutions of divine conflict use a d10 roll. If the conflict is a direct battle between deities, each god may also add their divine caste to the roll, with a fledgling adding 1, a lesser 2, etc.

The winner of the roll is considered to have won whatever conflict was at stake in the manner they wish to have won it.

Deity Application

Lords of Creation is always recruiting, and anybody can join. All deities must be approved by the game’s MODs to ensure that they will not overlap an existing god and will contribute meaningfully to the game.. Two MODs must approve the application for it that god to enter the game.

If you do not use the format presented below, the MODs will ask you to put it in this format before approving it.

Name, Optional Epithet Played By: Player Name Domains and Portfolios: Domain (Portfolio), Domain (Portfolio) Description: A brief description of your god.

Explanation: Name: Something we can take seriously, please. Played By: Your name. Domains and Portfolios: You begin play with two domains, each with an associated portfolio. Two gods may not have the same domain and portfolios as another. Description: This is by far the most important aspect of an application. Keep it short enough to be easy to read, but be sure to include enough detail to give us an idea who your god it. Two paragraphs or so is sufficient. Please note that your god will need to arise from another god somehow and not just “poof” into existence. We will work with you to find a suitable “parent” god - if you have one in mind already, by all means let us know.  Rules and Etiquette

The objective of Lords of Creation is to allow the players to create a world for a playable campaign, while weaving an interesting and original story. It is important to understand that this is not a 'God Campaign' but a form of collaborative storytelling and world-building. If your objective is to create a god simply to show off how great you are at other players’ expense, then this is not the game for you.

'''1. Gods are not omnipotent. ''' While you are playing a deity, you should not forget that you are still one of many. There are limits on what a god is capable of.

2. Gods are not omniscient. A deity is limited to what information they can gather through observation or intelligence, just as any powerful being. They are generally assumed to be able to be able find and observe anything on the Material that they wish, but they can still be surprised or caught unawares by things they aren’t paying attention to. A special note here is that things related to a god's domain allow them a vague and general sense of that element but not enough to gather specific details.

3. Godmodding is to be avoided For those of you unfamiliar with the concept, godmodding is, in short, assuming control of another player's characters or creations. In a game of this scale, sometimes it can be impossible to entirely avoid godmodding, but it should be kept to a minimum whenever possible. Remember, planning ahead with other players is the best way to avoid godmodding!

4. You are not ‘invulnerable’. Although many actions in LoC are unable to be completely destroyed by another, simply smugly saying “they get better” is not a means of making you invulnerable. All it does is alienate you from your fellow players and make them inclined to ignore you.

5. Consider your fellow players. You are not the only person trying to establish characters and write a story – everyone has their own plots and plans. Interaction between players is actively encouraged, but simply harassing them is not. Just as ignoring a player’s attacks on your own creations is frowned upon, repeatedly assaulting a player’s creations with no real purpose other than to keep them from playing is griefing, and will not be tolerated.

6. Time is flexible Time to a god's eyes is not the same as that of a mortal's eyes. In essence, there is no “standardized” timeline. Rollovers do not necessarily represent any specific span of time. There have been some instances where mere hours pass IC in one RL week and others where centuries pass in a single post. Stay flexible.

7. Communication, communication, communication! You cannot be too open. The more you plan with other players, the smoother the game gets. Surprising people can be fun, but people can’t work with you if they don’t know what you’re up to. Using the OOC thread or other communication helps a lot.

8. Respect the MODs The MODs of this LoC are here to help the players, not bully them. We oversee all the details it takes to keep this game running from maintaining the roster and world map to rules arbitration and catching cheaters. If we ask for your cooperation as MODs, please give it to us.

9. Keep the OOC clean If you have an issue with something or someone, do not go to the OOC to cry/whine or make a big issue out of it. That's the whole reason the MODs were picked. To keep conflicts out of the OOC. They make the atmosphere oppressive, they make things less fun, and generally unpleasant and maybe even make the arguments larger than they need be. So if you do have a complaint, either PM the offending party or ask a MOD to mediate on the issue. If you have a problem with a MOD, or have a reason to distrust a MOD, simply send the message to another MOD.

10. Mundane < Heroic < Infused < Divine In general, ordinary mortals are trumped by Heroic mortal elements (Heroes and Artifacts), which are in turn trumped by Infused creations like avatars and relics. Of course, true gods and their powers trump everything else in a direct confrontation. However, these are just guidelines and can be overturned for the sake of story if both parties are amicable.  Newbie Tips Here are a couple tips that can help you get established in the game world and set you on the right track. 1. Simply by merit of your god’s origin, you should have a connection to at least one other deity in your progenitor. Not only is having an ally useful in game terms, but writing tends to be much easier with a partner (or enemy) or two. 2. Early on, be careful to set yourself up with something to do between rollovers. It is boring to end up blowing all your starting ap on something and then not being able to do stuff for a week. Try to create something permanent and lasting you can rp with in the mortal realm to combat this problem.