-VMUa/WL[-VMU-V 5a\PQK-LQ\QWV5 2WPV?QKS2 ENEMY GODS THE MYTHIC EDITION

Writing John Wick

Invaluable Design Contributions Jess Heinig

Playtesters Jess Heinig, Sean Mooney, Annie Rush, Baron Silverton, Vachon Simien, Robert Telmar, and Josh “the Cursed” Wasta

Inspiration (direct and otherwise) Jared Sorensen, Unheilig, Renee Knipe, Annie Rush, Michael Moorcock, Robert E. Howard, Homer, Joseph Campbell

Special Thanks To Ganesha, Lord of Categories, He who bestows Good Fortune on Long Journeys. To Athena, Goddess of Craft , who guided our hands on this endeavor. To Caliope, Muse of Epic Works, whose Song never left our ears. To Snake, Fire-Bringer and Trickster, whose tongue tickled our ear as he whispered to us. To Discordia (just in case). And to Prometha, Lady of Imagination. We are your humble servants. CONTENTS Introduction...... 1 Chapter 1: Creating Characters ...... 2 First Step: Your God ...... 2 Second Step: Your Hero ...... 4 Chapter 2: Risks...... 10 Taking Risks ...... 10 Violence...... 13 Chapter 3: Devotion & Divinity...... 18 Starting Divinity Points ...... 18 Domain ...... 18 Divine Inspiration ...... 20 Intervention & Retribution ...... 20 Ranks of Faith ...... 23 Chapter 5: Making Your Hero Better ...... 26 Appendix 1: The Pantheon ...... 27 God of the Battlefield: Falvren Dyr...... 27 God of Craft: Aelon Valeron ...... 28 God of Fortune: Ashalim Avendi ...... 30 Goddess of the Hearth: Manna Renay ...... 31 God of Justice: Jonan Drax...... 32 Goddess of Love: Talia ...... 33 God of Wisdom: Tyane Bran ...... 34 Lord of Death: Uhmume...... 36 The Fell Gods ...... 36 Appendix 2: The Fell Gods ...... 37 The God of Murder: Ikhalu...... 37 The Bloody-Eyed Widow: Mahl ...... 38 The Grinning man: Afhil...... 41 The Lord of Demons: Sorcel Shem ...... 43 Appendix 3: Creating Your Own Pantheon...... 44 Define Your Pantheon ...... 44 Two Examples...... 44 The Four Elements ...... 45 Death...... 47 Lastly...... 47 Appendix 4: D20 Conversion Notes ...... 48 Conclusion...... 49 1 INTRODUCTION “Let’s play Gods!” – Me, circa 8th Grade Way back in junior high school, when I was playing Dungeons & Dragons, the ultimate goal was “uplift ing” our favorite characters to “god status.” Now, we heard all kinds of ways to do that: become 36th level, kill a god to assume his mantle, or even sleep with a god (something my boys never believed, no matter how much verisimilitude I employed). And so, many years later, I’m thinking back to those days, wondering the same thing I was wondering then: “How would a roleplaying game for gods work? Aft er all, can’t gods do anything?” Well, as it turns out, that isn’t exactly true. A college mythology course taught me that most gods are just as limited as human beings are. Th at is, gods are limited by the imaginations of the men who create them. (Mythological gods, that is. Not real gods. You know, the gods you worship, as opposed to other people’s gods.) And so, here’s Enemy Gods. A roleplaying game for those of us who aren’t content with just playing heroes, but want a step up into the heavens, to play what may be the world’s most dangerous game…

What is Enemy Gods? It’s a role-playing game where you play two characters: a God and a Hero. Th e Hero is a mortal trying to win the favor of the Gods by doing the kind of things Heroes do. In exchange, the Gods help the Hero out with acts of divine intervention, trying to win enough favor from him (or her) the Hero. Th e more the God helps the Hero, the more the Hero helps the God, and it all goes round and round in a big symbiotic circle.

Sword and Sorcery While Enemy Gods is a fantasy game, the setting is more in line with the Conan and Elric genre of fantasy than the high romance of Th e Lord of the Rings. Th e world of Enemy Gods is steeped in the “age from before the fall of Atlantis;” pre-historic times that man does not remember, except sometimes in dreams. For a real world comparison, the world of Enemy Gods is closer to 500 BC than 1300 AD and it is far more Elric than Aragorn.

What Do I Need to Play? You need this book, pencils and a lot of 6-sided dice. Tasty beverages help.

CHAPTER 1: CREATING CHARACTERS Gods and Heroes share a very special relationship. As a Hero performs fabulous acts of unbelievable heroism (or despicable villainy), he increases a God’s fame in the mortal world, thus increasing the God’s power and infl uence. But he can’t do it alone; he needs divine help. Th e more assistance the God gives the Hero, the more the Hero can accomplish. Th e more the Hero accomplishes, the more power he gives back to the God, which is more power the God can use to help the Hero. If your Hero wins enough favor from one of the Gods, he becomes that God’s Champion (and gains access to even more powers). Th e Greeks had this game down to a science: the whole Trojan War was about battles between the Gods and their Champions. In the myths, Athena’s Champion was Odysseus, Zeus’ was Heracles and Aphrodite’s Champion was Hector. If you’re a God, you need a Hero to further your cause in the world of mortals. Most players assume their Hero and God get along famously, but more daring players even go so far as to make enemies of their Hero and their God. Whatever relationship you have, consider it carefully. So, with all that in mind, think of all the classic heroes from mythology. Th ere’s Arthur, the reluctant King of Britain; Roland, Charlemagne’s noble knight; Siegfried, the Norse dragon-slayer; and Manabozho, the Algonquin trickster. (Okay, maybe you don’t know about Manabozho. Th at’s okay — I didn’t either until I started researching this game. You should check him out; he’s pretty awesome.)

First Step: Your God Th e fi rst step in playing Enemy Gods is picking out a God for each player in the game. Is your God the God of the Battlefi eld? Th e God of Craft ? Th e Goddess of Love? Because there can only really be one God of the Battlefi eld, you’ll need a method for choosing who gets to play whom in the Pantheon. Here are a few ways to pick Gods for the game.

Creation by Design Th e GM assigns Gods to the players based on their personalities and player types. Th e guy who always plays fi ghters gets the God of the Battlefi eld, the guy who always plays bards gets the God of Love, the guy who always plays thieves gets the God of Fortune. You get the picture.

Creation by Accident Th e group throws all the God names in a hat. Everybody picks out one and you get what you draw. Whether or not everybody gets to trade aft erward or not is up to you.

2 3 Creation by Will a card is drawn, he knows its face and rank. Th e GM says, “We’re playing Enemy Gods!” Th ere is no Fate, no Destiny… only the whim of and lets the players decide among themselves the God of Fortune. who gets to play which God. Goddess of the Hearth: Manna Renay A Sample Pantheon She is the Mother of the World, the one who For your perusal (and possible use), here’s a taught men to tame the beasts, who taught them pantheon of gods. If you’re familiar with some how to make the crops grow, taught them the of my other games, you may recognize a few rituals to bring the world back to life aft er the faces. If you like ‘em, use ‘em. If not, make up long sleeping death of winter. She is Mother To your own. Choose them in whatever method Us All. you see fi t. A more detailed God of Justice: Jonan description — along with Lesser Gods Drax rituals, miracles, allies and Th ere are other Gods in the It was he who gave men laws enemies — is in Appendix 1. world, although they do not have and the will to enforce them. the same power as the Gods listed It was he who gave men the God of the Battlefi eld: above. Th ese “City Gods” are promise of justice. Jonan Drax Falvren Dyr worshipped locally and sometimes and his devoted paladins walk Falvren Dyr is also known are just diff erent manifestations the earth for the sole purpose of as the Blood God. He is a of Greater Gods. Th e Lady of bringing justice to the wicked strong God who demands the Well, for example, is a minor and to protect those who cannot nothing from his followers Goddess in the city of T’jir. protect themselves. but self-reliance. He despises Oft en called the “Patron Saint of the weak and favors the Th ieves,” she protects the lower strong. He never bestows Goddess of Love: Talia classes (pick pockets, burglars, Yvarai blessings on those who ask: confi dence men, etc.) from the only those who deserve it. More than just the Goddess of tyranny of the corrupt monarchy Love, Talia is the world’s muse. and merchant class. While she God of Craft: Aelon Th rough her divine inspiration, does protect the criminal classes, Valeron all great works of art are made. It she is a lesser manifestation of the Brother to the Bloody is by her hand that artists paint, God of Justice. God, Aelon Valeron is the with her voice that singers sing, master forger, the master Also, in the city of Shurr, with her passion that lovers love. craft sman, the master tales of the “Cookie Queen” tradesman. He taught men (obviously, a manifestation God of Wisdom: Tyane how to cultivate fi re, struck of the Goddess of the Bran the very fi rst coin, and gave Hearth) are abundant. Th is Whenever man asks a men the skills they needed to goddess manifests once a question, Tyane Bran is there. rise above the beasts. year, delivering cookies to the When he wonders, Tyane Bran children of the city. Th ey leave is there. When he dreams, Tyane God of Fortune: out a cup of milk for her at Bran speaks to him. Th e world Ashalim Avendi night and wake to fi nd a plate is full of secrets, but the God of When a coin is tossed, he of cookies in the morning. Wisdom knows them all… and knows how it will fall. When reveals them to those worthy of his knowledge. Lord Raglan’s Hero Pattern Joseph Campbell wasn’t the only scholar (or even the Or, Make Your Own! fi rst!) to point out the seemingly common structure in Finally, if you want to make up your hero stories. Lord Raglan (FitzRoy Richard Summerset, own Pantheon, there’s some free advice the 4th Baron Raglan) published Th e Hero, A Study in in the Appendices (and we all know what Tradition, Myth and Drama in 1936. He suggested that free advice is worth) on creating your own mythic heroes were not historical fi gures, but actually Gods. Enjoy! characters of religious and ritual drama. He outlined twenty-two traits most common with the mythic hero. Some heroes have less, but they all fi t the same Second Step: Your Hero structure. Here are Raglan’s twenty-two common traits: Once you have your God fi gured ■ Hero’s mother is a royal virgin; out, it’s time to fi gure out your Hero. Heroes in Enemy Gods aren’t your ■ His father is a king, and typical adventurer types; instead, they ■Oft en a near relative of his mother, but are touched by the divine, selected by ■Th e circumstances of his conception are unusual, the Gods themselves for greatness. Also, and they are characters with pasts. Your Hero ■ He is also reputed to be the son of a god. isn’t some “fi rst level” nobody; he’s a ■ At birth an attempt is made, usually by his father great and mighty symbol of what is best or his maternal grand father to kill him, but in humanity. A conquering warrior, a sly ■ he is spirited away, and trickster, a subtle seductress; these are all ■ Reared by foster -parents in a far country. the kinds of characters you’ll be making for Enemy Gods. ■ We are told nothing of his childhood, but ■ On reaching manhood he returns or goes to his Step 0: Description future Kingdom. Mythic Heroes have many traits ■Aft er a victory over the king and/or a giant, in common, all of which you should dragon, or wild beast, consider while creating your Hero. Listed ■ He marries a princess, oft en the daughter of his below are some of the most common predecessor and characteristics about mythic heroes. Read ■ And becomes king. through and answer the questions at the ■ For a time he reigns uneventfully and end of each section. When you’re fi nished, ■ Prescribes laws, but you’ll have a better idea of not only who your Hero is, but why he’s a Hero. ■ Later he loses favor with the gods and/or his subjects, and (Th is, of course, is a very abbreviated ■ Is driven from the throne and city, aft er which and truncated version of Joseph Campbell’s “hero’s adventure” cycle. For ■ He meets with a mysterious death, a much more detailed description, check ■Oft en at the top of a hill, out the Bibliography in the back.) ■ His children, if any do not succeed him. ■ His body is not buried, but nevertheless ■ He has one or more holy sepulchres.

4 5 Birth & Youth The Wastelands & Transformation Some sort of miracle oft en marks a Hero’s Far from his home, the Hero wanders through birth. Whether it is an omen, a blessing, or the Wastelands, a vast wounded world of even divine conception, the Hero’s birth is strangers. Th e world is wasting away, an open miraculous, isolating him from the rest of the and festering wound in need of healing. Th e world. Because he is marked as diff erent, the Hero will heal it, although he doesn’t know Hero is oft en a loner in his young life and must that yet. Walking through the Wastelands, he spend it in self-refl ection, learning how to rely encounters beasts of all kinds and men who are on his own strengths to survive. strong and cunning enough to live in such an Oft en, the Hero is an orphan, ignorant from awful place. Th ere, in the middle of the world, his true heritage until he is called upon to fulfi ll the Hero fi nds a mentor who teaches him the his destiny. A reoccurring theme is the Hero skills he needs to survive in the world. being sent down the sea (the world’s biggest With the mentor’s help, the Hero wanders symbol for the human unconscious). Th ink the Wasteland, encountering and overcoming about your Hero’s birth. What marks it as dangers as he goes. It is also here he learns a deep unique? Does he have a divine heritage? Was secret: in order to fully succeed in his mission, he abandoned by his real parents, only to be he must drink a magic potion made from the discovered later? blood of the creature he must ultimately defeat. Th is potion takes many forms, but the theme The Call to Adventure remains: in order to defeat the beast, you must A Hero spends most of his life isolated from see through its eyes, live in its skin, and walk in the rest of his community. He’s seen as an its footsteps. To know its secrets, you must be outsider, a dreamer, a stranger. It’s only when the thing you fear the most. Only the Hero is adventure invites him away does the Hero fi nd strong enough to survive such an ordeal, and by his true calling. Oft en, the Hero’s community surviving it, he is no longer the young fool who is endangered by some terrible evil and only wandered away for home in search of adventure. the Hero has the courage (and imagination) to He is transformed into something greater, confront it. He isn’t always enthusiastic about something powerful and not entirely of this the adventure, sometimes refusing it outright. world. He is fi nally the Hero he was born to be. However, deep in his heart, he knows he’s the What kind of skills did your Hero learn in only person who can save the community from the Wastelands? Who was his Mentor? What danger. He goes forth — even halfh eartedly — was the greatest lesson he learned? How was he to save the people who have treated him like an transformed by his experiences? outsider all this time. Your Hero has heard and answered this call, The Underworld & The Beast going forth from his homeland into the great Finally, he reaches the darkest part of the unknown to confront an evil only he has the journey — the Underworld. It is here the Hero imagination to understand and defeat. What typically loses his mentor and must face the called your Hero away from his home and what darkest challenge all on his own. Whether or did he fi nd when he left everything behind? not he succeeds in the challenge is up to him. Th e creature waiting for him is “the dragon;” the ultimate metaphor for the sickness of the world. Th e Hero must confront and slay the dragon, but more oft en than not, once the deed is done, condemned to death. He begged the Queen the dragon turns out to be another Hero… one that if he was to be killed, that at least his from the past who refl ects the future waiting for daughter be spared. The Queen saw the our current protagonist. love in the man’s eyes, but she could not Slaying the dragon represents destroying the break the law. Any man who entered her traditions of the past; those rites and rituals domain without her permission was to be whose meaning has been forgotten by current killed. So, she took the child from him and generations. Th e Hero represents the present, ordered his execution. Then, one night, she the action of the moment. He kills the tradition secreted him to a boat and told him to leave of the past and makes the new tradition. And, and never come back. He told the Queen perhaps one day, he will face another Hero and his daughter’s name and then sailed away. face the fi nal confrontation with his own future. Alkemene was raised by the Queen of Th e old King must give way to the new King. the Amazons herself to be a warrior, but Th at is the way of the world. the young girl seemed forever enchanted, and distracted, by the moon. What was the nature of your Hero’s “dragon?” Then, one night, Alkemene woke from What did he represent to you? What did you a terrible dream. She was not in her bed, learn from defeating him? but on a hill, looking up at the full moon, Now that you have a better understanding hearing the echo of hunting hounds below who your Hero is and what he’s capable of doing her. She followed the howls and found (and what he isn’t capable of doing), let’s start the hunt and joined them, running naked writing numbers down on the sheet. through the woods. And as she leapt over broken trees and ran through brambles, she felt fur on her skin and claws ripping Step 0 Example up the ground. Breaking through the trees, I talked to the Narrator and he’s told she saw what the hounds were chasing: a me the game is going to take place in young man, exhausted and collapsed in a Classic Greece. With that in mind, I begin small pool reflecting the light of the moon. making the story of my character. She paused for a moment… and then My character’s name is Alkemene (it helped the hounds tear the man to pieces. means “strength of the moon”). She was Alkemene heard a woman’s voice born during a terrible storm on a ship behind her, calling out to the dogs. She sailing for Ithaca. The ship wrecked on the turned and saw a beautiful woman with a shore and her mother was killed. To save bow and arrows, all shining with a silver his daughter, Alkemene’s father cut her light. With blood on her lips and hands, she from her dead mother’s womb. He pulled bowed to the woman. The huntress smiled the child from his dead wife’s body, but and the next thing Alkemene remembered the baby was not breathing. He prayed to was awakening in her bed… with blood on the goddess Artemis for help and the baby her lips and under her nails. started crying. She also had a question in her mind. A Unfortunately, the ship crashed on question she could not dismiss. She asked the shores of Pontus—the land of the the Queen of the Amazons, “Where is my Amazons. When the warrior women father?” The Queen’s eyes looked down found Alkemene and her father, he was 6 7 and she told Alkemene the secret story of Your Hero begins with one point of Devotion her father’s fate. Alkemene then swore she to every God. You have 10 additional points to would find her father. She took with her customize your Devotions. No Devotion can be a bow and a quiver of arrows and sailed higher than 4 at this point. away in a small boat, searching for her Every point of Devotion is another die you father. can roll when taking an action in that God’s Now, Alkemene wanders the islands of Domain. In other words, if you’re in a fi ght, you Greece searching for that man. She does call on the power and blessings of the God of the not even know his name. Battlefi eld. Or, if you want to connive your way past a guard, you want to call on the eloquence of the Goddess of Love. If you’re making a boat, Step 1: Backgrounds you call on the God of Craft . Th e higher your Backgrounds represent skills and talents from devotion to the God, the more dice you can use. your Hero’s past. A Background could be a word or phrase that describes something you want your character to be really good at. For example, Step 2 Example you could pick the Background, “Swordsman,” My GM says we can invest points in or “Courtier,” or even “Temple Prostitute.” the twelve Olympian gods. I have one point of Devotion in each of the twelve You get 7 points to fi ll out your Backgrounds. Athenians plus ten points more. I allocate Each point you put into a Background them thusly: represents a die you get to roll for risks. You can Artemis: 4+1 = 5 divide them up any way you see fi t; however, no Background can start higher than rank 4. Poseidon: 2+1 = 3 You could have one four-point Background and Apollo: 3+1 = 4 one three-point Background, seven one-point Hera: 1+1 = 2 Backgrounds, three one-pointers and two two- pointers, or however you want to split them up. Step 3: Heroic Flaw Your Hero has one Flaw. Th is can be nearly Step 1 Example anything you like. Achilles had the most famous My hero has two Backgrounds. The Flaw in the world, Lancelot had his blind first is Huntress. I put four points into that devotion, and Oedipus suff ered from an entirely one, giving me four dice to roll for risks diff erent kind of blindness (his Flaw is a dark involving hunting and shooting her bow. secret from his past) and, of course, Achilles had My second Background is Daughter of the most famous Flaw of all. Your Flaw can also Amazons. I use that Background whenever be someone who depends on you or someone Alkemene must fight. you owe fealty to. For example, Gwenevere could be considered Arthur’s Flaw (Lancelot, too, for that matter). It’s up to you. Th ere’s a mechanic Step 2: Devotions for bringing your Flaw into the game, and we’ll On the sheet, you’ll see a number of spaces talk about Calling on the Flaw in Chapter 3: for Devotions. List all the Gods in the game Devotion & Divinity. (including Non-Player Gods in the Pantheon). What kind of person is your Hero most attracted to? What kind of person drives you to Step 3 Example fi ts of rage? Alkemene’s Flaw comes from a promise she made to Artemis. She promised the How does your Hero defi ne “love?” Huntress that she would never allow a man If given the opportunity, would your Hero kill to see her naked. If such an event happens, for profi t? If not, what would your Hero kill for? her Flaw can come into play. What is more important, to be feared or to be loved? (“Yes,” is not an acceptable answer.) Who does your Hero trust most? Why does Step 4: Hubris she trust this person above all others? Th e Greek word hubris means “dangerous vanity” or as the Merriam-Webster likes to say: Which God does your Hero revere most and “exaggerated pride or self-confi dence.” In Enemy why? Which God does he revere least? Gods, Hubris is a trait measuring your Hero’s To whom does your Hero owe the most self-confi dence. It’s his ability to rely on his own loyalty? skills rather than the blessings of the Gods. What are some of your Hero’s reoccurring Every Hero begins the game with two points mannerisms? Figures of speech, physical habits, of Hubris. We’ll take a better look at Hubris, and etc.? what it does for you in Chapter 2: Playing the How would your Hero’s parents describe him? Game. If you could give one piece of advice to your Step 5: A Game of Questions Hero, what would it be? Finally, take another moment and answer What would be the most appropriate death for these questions. your Hero? What social caste does your Hero come from? What quality about his personality does your Is he poor, rich, a landowner? Your social caste Hero like most? has a lot to do with your attitude toward others; What quality about his personality does your describe whether or not you fi t the cliché of your Hero like least? caste. Rank the Seven Deadly Sins in order from Which of the fi ve senses is most important to deadliest to most benign: Lust, Greed, Anger, your Hero? Pride, Jealousy, Sloth, and Gluttony. How does your Hero feel about her parents? Rank the Seven Beatifi c Virtues from most Her family in general? Does she have any noble to least noble: Prudence, Temperance, siblings? Did she lose any siblings or family Fortitude, Justice, Faith, Hope, and Charity. members before now? What are your Hero’s favorite foods? Drinks? Determining Divinity What does he like to wear? Aft er all the Heroes have been created, ask each Hero how much Devotion he has to your Does your Hero hold any grudges or God. Write all those down and add them up. vendettas? Does he owe any favors or boons? Th e total Devotion the Heroes have for your Does he have any obligations at all? God is your God’s starting Divinity. Th is is 8 9 how many Divinity Points you start with at the beginning of the game. If a Hero’s Devotion to you increases, so do the number of Divinity Points you start with at the beginning of each game. I’ve put spaces on your God’s sheet for Heroes’ Devotion to your God.

CHAPTER 2: RISKS First off , playing Enemy Gods is just like playing any other role-playing game. You’ve got a character sheet, you’ve got dice and a Game Master. All you do is play as usual. Go delve into dungeons, go wander through shadowy cities, or go maneuver your way through the intrigue of kingly courts. It’s all the same, just a switch of perspective. Th is time, you have a God’s-eye view.

Taking Risks “Th e only time a thief should have to bother rolling dice to pick a lock is if there’s a big monster chasing him.” — Jared Sorensen Most days, a Hero can get by without ever rolling dice. He doesn’t need to roll dice for most actions, just the ones that are really risky. Eventually, Jared’s aforementioned thief will pick the lock; otherwise, the story sits still with the thief on one side of the door and the adventure on the other. Rolling dice should only occur if: Th e success of the Hero’s action is in question, and/or Rolling dice adds tension and/or drama to the situation. So, instead of using the standard “Task Resolution System” cliché, I’ve chosen to call it “Taking Risks.” You roll a number of dice (determine by your character sheet and other factors), looking for successes. Every die that rolls an even number is a success. Every die that rolls an odd number is not. Th e outcome of your roll does not determine the success or failure of the risk. Instead, it determines who gets to narrate the outcome of the risk. If your successes are equal to or greater than the target number your GM assigned to your risk, you get to narrate the outcome of your Hero’s action. If your successes are less than the target number your GM assigned to your risk, the Narrator gets to narrate the outcome of your Hero’s action. How do you get dice? From your Devotions, Hubris and Advantage Dice. Let’s talk about those.

Devotion and Hubris When your Hero takes a Risk, he must make a choice: either he may rely on the will of the Gods or he can rely on his own skills and talents. When he invokes the Gods, you roll dice based on his Devotions. When he relies on his own skill, you roll dice equal to his Hubris. Here are examples of how both work.

10 11 Devotion Hubris If your Hero wants to call on the power of the You may choose for your Hero to rely on his Gods to guide his hand through his Risk, roll a own skills rather than call upon the favor of the number of d6s equal to your Hero’s Devotion Gods. If you do so, you roll a number of dice to the appropriate God. If you are fi ghting, roll equal to your Hubris (plus any Advantage Dice). your Devotion for the God of the Battlefi eld; Your Hero’s Hubris increases and decreases when you are building a wall, roll your Devotion during the course of the game. See Chapter 3: to the God of Craft , when you’re trying to Devotion & Divinity: Curses, and Chapter 5: seduce the Queen of the Black Mask, use your Making Your Hero Better, below. Devotion to the Goddess of Love. Th ere’s a trick. Th e player of the appropriate Advantage Dice God decides how many dice you may roll. He One of the most important elements of may allow you to roll your total Devotion or the Enemy Gods system is Advantage Dice. he may allow you to roll only a portion of that Th ese are dice the GM hands out to players for number. showing initiative and for good roleplaying. For example, if you’re in a sword fi ght with Each Advantage Die is another die the player one of the Assassin-Priests of Ikhalu, you call can roll for a chance of rolling another success. upon the God of the Battlefi eld for strength in Advantage Dice represent advantages your the fi ght. Your current Devotion to the God of Hero has in any given Risk. GMs should not the Battlefi eld is 5, so the player of that God can be shy about giving Advantage Dice; they are allow you to roll up to 5 dice for the fi ght. He here to reward good roleplaying, planning, and may, however, allow you less dice. It all depends innovative thinking. Here are some examples of on what you’ve done for him lately. when the GM should award Advantage Dice. You may choose to call upon a God whose A player says, “I have three advantages over powers are not appropriate to your roll. For my opponent. My Hero has a sword. Also, I’m example, calling on the Goddess of Hearth and on higher ground. Finally, my Hero has the sun Home in a fi ght for your life or calling on the behind him, shining in my opponent’s eyes.” God of Justice for picking a lock is invoking a Th e GM agrees and says, “Okay. You have God outside that God’s sphere of infl uence. If three advantages. You can roll three additional you choose to call upon a God whose infl uence dice on your attack.” does not cover your current Risk, they may only lend you dice up to half your Devotion, rounded In many ways, a Hero’s Backgrounds are like down. permanent Advantage Dice. Because a Hero has a past, he can use the skills he learned from that Please note that calling upon a God to impose past as Advantage Dice. their will in a sphere of infl uence that is not their own is a good way to anger the other Gods. Just so you know. Risk Diffi culty Advantage Dice Each Risk has a degree of Diffi culty. You roll your Hey, Mr. and Mrs. GM! Don’t skimp dice — whether they’re from Hubris or Devotion — and on the Advantage Dice! Th ey’re what count the number of evens you roll and compare it to the make the world go ‘round. Diffi culty assigned by the GM (see below). Advantage Dice came out of a response Your GM picks the Risk Diffi culty depending on how to watching another system in action. hard he feels the Risk is. A Hard Risk is something that (Th e system shall remain nameless, but requires an incredible amount of eff ort; a Mythic Risk its initials are DAD.) In that system, all that the Hero only makes once or twice in his lifetime (or the advantages a character could have game session, depending on how “heroic” you want your were pre-loaded: right there on his campaign to be). We recommend most actions be set to a sheet. Th e player didn’t have to think 3 Diffi culty or even a 2 Diffi culty. Th at way, most Heroes about how to gain bonuses because all (who are heroes, aft er all) succeed most of the time on his bonuses were already in front of most of the tasks they want to accomplish. him. Besides, the wimpy circumstantial bonus (+2) didn’t match the Feats he All mundane tasks — such as tying sandals, picking had on his sheet. up a piece of paper and successfully sneezing into a handkerchief — are actions requiring no dice roll: they’re Th is led to the classic “I roll to hit” just not risky. You should only roll dice if the success syndrome that drives me crazy. So, I of the Hero’s action is either important, or in doubt. decided to come up with something I In other words, if the success of a simple action means liked more. the life and death of thousands, by all means, force a Advantage Dice make the player roll. But if it means stalling the game for an hour while engage the world around him, make we determine if Bill the Barbarian can count to three, him look for any advantage his ignore it and move on. Th ere are many more important character can get. Rather than rely (and dramatic) actions in store for our Heroes and we’ve on his sheet, the player has to think only got until midnight before the GM’s girlfriend starts outside his sheet and think of ways to calling on his cell phone. gain advantages. Th e advantages aren’t front loaded and calculated ahead of Contested Risks time. Actions that directly test your skills against another When all the thinking is already done Hero are called Contested Risks. Here’s how they’re for the player, he resorts to “I roll handled. to hit.” He doesn’t even address the First, both contestants roll dice (add any Advantages) situation with an in-character voice. “I and keep the evens. Th e Hero with the most successes roll to hit.” gains a Moderate Success. With advantage dice, he must think If the successful Hero gets double the successes of the about the fi ght in-character. He must other Hero, he gains a Complete Success. address the situation going on. If he You will fi nd rules later on in this book for Moderate just “rolls to hit,” he’s missing out on and Complete Successes, but in general, just what all the goodies. As the GM, it is your Complete and Moderate Successes mean is up to the GM job to reward his creativity. Do it. You and the players. Th ey are just handy tools to make the might be surprised at the response. process less binary and more colorful. 12 13 Mythic Risks Initiative Mythic Risks are the kind of actions that defy At the beginning of the round, everyone logic. Everything Heracles does in his twelve involved in the combat rolls a number of dice tasks is a Mythic Risk. Heroes should be taking equal to their Battle Devotion (or equivalent). on Mythic challenges from time to time. Re- Th e Hero with the most successes acts fi rst, routing rivers, holding up the world followed by the second-highest and fooling the God of Fortune Target Numbers number of successes, right down the isn’t the bread and butter of Heroes, Easy Risks = Diff 1 line. If two characters roll the exact but... well, actually, it is. So, every initiative, the God of Battle decides Normal Risks = Diff 2 once in a while, Heroes get to do who goes fi rst. Diffi cult Risks = Diff 3 something spectacular. Isn’t that Th e God of Battle may spend a why they’re heroes aft er all? Hard Risks = Diff 4 Divinity to put a character (Hero Mythic Risks = Diff 8 or otherwise) at the front of the Violence initiative order. I designed this combat system is designed to encourage the kind of epic battles Action found in Greek, Roman, and Norse myths. When it comes time for your Hero to do Where bigger-than-life Heroes duke it out in something, he can take one action. Th at action earth shattering, pulse pounding battles until can be any number of things, but it all boils one makes the killing blow. In order to do that, down to doing one thing. You could run across we had to throw out a few standard fantasy the room, jump over a table, use your sword to conventions (hit points, for example) and slice open a guy’s artery… whatever you like. It replace them with a system that feels mythic just has to be one thing. and encourages players to keep that feel alive — Th e number of successes you roll is the rather than resort to the standard “I roll to hit” number of actions you can take during the cliché. round. Don’t worry, there’s still an initiative and to Th e player with the highest initiative chooses hit rolls, so you’re not completely in the dark. his action fi rst. He says what he intends to Th e biggest change here is one of timing. Instead do. Th e player with the next-highest initiative of announcing your action, then rolling to see follows and so on down the line. Once every if you succeeded… you roll for successes, then player has announced his action, those actions use those successes to describe your character’s are resolved (see the next step). actions. It’s a little diff erent, and it requires a little bit of explaining, but it’s also a lot simpler Heroes vs. NoNames than a lot of other systems. Before we get any further in the combat procedure, let’s talk a moment about Heroes Combat Phases and NoNames (pronounced no-nah-mays; it Every combat consists of the following phases: rhymes with mayonnaise). You already know 1. Initiative about Heroes — the Chosen of the Gods. But NoNames are characters in the world who are 2. Action just walk on characters. Th ey’re extras. Th ey 3. Resolution really aren’t an essential part of the script. When a Hero attacks NoNames, he rolls a If any of your attacks fail, you lose all number of dice equal to his Battle Devotion + Advantage Dice you gained from the combat. any Advantages he may have. Th e number of You do not lose Advantage Dice from weapons, successes he gains is the number of NoNames he armor, or Backgrounds; just the Advantages you can dispatch with a single action. gained from successful attacks. Also, if your Hero changes his target, he Heroes vs. Heroes loses any Advantage gained from attacking his When a Hero faces another Hero, the combat previous opponent. system is a little diff erent. If a Hero uses his action to attack another Fighting More Than One Hero, he rolls his Battle Devotion + any Opponent Advantages he has. His TN is his opponent’s If your Hero is fi ghting more than one Battle Devotion + any defensive Advantages opponent, each opponent gets a number he may have. Th e Hero with the most successes of Advantage Dice equal to the additional narrates the outcome of the attack and gains one opponents. So, if three people are attacking your bonus Advantage Die for his next attack against Hero, each gets 2 additional Advantage Dice. that same opponent. Th e successful Hero must explain how he Divine Intervention gained the Advantage Die. Perhaps he put a cut Th e Gods may interfere in a battle, but they above his opponent’s eye. Or a gouge across his need Divine Authority to do so. If a God has knee. Or a powerful blow to the stomach that Authority, he may give Divine Inspiration, create knocked all the wind from his opponent’s gut. Miracles, or otherwise interfere. Th e God of Battle and the Goddess of the Hearth, however, Wounds always have Divine Authority over a battle in Every time your Hero loses a contested risk two very specifi c ways. during a fi ght scene, he gains a Wound. Th e God of Battle has Domain when giving Wounds don’t detract from the number of Advantage Dice to the attacker; he is always dice you roll, but they do aff ect you in diff erent eager to see more bloodshed. He may spend ways. If your Hero ever takes ten Wounds, he 1 Divinity to give the attacker a number of needs divine assistance to keep going. A God Advantage Dice equal to the attacker’s Battle must spend a Divinity Point or your Hero drops, Devotion for one round. incapacitated by his Wounds. Th e Goddess of the Hearth has Divine Authority when protecting the Defender; all the Gaining and Losing Advantage creatures in the world are her children, and she As the fi ght proceeds, you keep all Advantage will protect them to the end. She may spend 1 Dice you gained from the previous rounds. Th at Divinity to increase the TN to hit the defender is, if you gain 1 Advantage in the fi rst round, for one round. Th e TN increase is equal to the 2 in the second, and 1 more in third, you roll defender’s Devotion to her. 4 additional dice for each subsequent attack, When other Gods try interfering in a battle, gaining even more Advantage Dice with each they must justify their action. For example, if the round… as long as your attack succeeds. Goddess of Love wants to interfere in the battle, she must have a reason to assert her authority; 14 15 either the Hero is protecting his true love, or two In a fi ght between professionals, the lovers are fi ghting to the death, or some other advantages weapons give are entirely excuse. Likewise, the God of Fortune or the God circumstantial, depending on the fi ght, the of Craft must justify their meddling in the God fi ghting ground and the fi ghters. A good GM of Battle’s Domain. will take that into account when the fun starts If a Hero has fi ve or more Devotion to a God, and apply the bonuses as necessary. that God may interfere with the battle because Ranged Weapons of the Hero’s high Devotion. On the other hand, there’s no doubt a skilled Winning the Fight archer shooting at a target from three hundred yards has a defi nite advantage. As soon as one combatant rolls a number of successes equal to his opponent’s Battle When a Hero uses a ranged weapon, give Devotion + 5, he wins the fi ght. him 3 Advantage Dice and his opponent, if he doesn’t have a ranged weapon of his own, can’t Th e winner has the choice to kill the loser or do anything about it but try hiding. Ain’t ranged spare him; he determines how the fi ght ends. weapons cool? Th is could be as simple as “I kill my opponent,” or it could be, “I slam my shoulder into you and Maneuvers you fall to the ground, losing your sword. I step An ingenious playtester came up with the on your chest and put my sword at your throat.” idea of incorporating maneuvers into the above system. A maneuver involves dropping a die Combat Details from your current roll to make your opponent Weapons, armor, tactics… all of these are drop a die from his subsequent roll. represented by Advantage Dice. Here are the details. For example, if you want to get cancel an opponent’s Advantage Dice he gets because of Melee Weapons weapon reach, drop one die from your roll. If When it really comes down to it, a knife can you make the roll, your opponent has to drop kill you just as quickly as a sword can. Th e whole one Advantage Die out of his next roll. notion of a knife doing d4 hit points while a Th e same can work to cancel Advantage Dice sword does d8 or d10 is really very silly. In the gained from armor, advantageous ground, etc. hands of a professional (and let’s assume our Dropping dice allows a more naturally skilled Heroes are professionals; they do get paid for fi ghter to cancel the circumstantial advantage of what they do), a knife and a two-handed bastard his opponent. sword are really the same thing. Th ey’re just If your Hero’s Wounds cancel out any dice he’d means to the same end: piercing your opponent’s get to use for a Risk, he cannot take that Risk heart or cutting his throat. and must choose to do something else. A weapon provides an advantage. Swords, knives, pole arms and back-of-the-hand claws Healing all provide your character an advantage, you get How do I get rid of my Wounds? In the myths Advantage Dice: one, two or three, depending and legends of yore, Wounds aren’t a serious on the circumstances. If you have a knife and issue. Every day, you heal one Wound. Also, the your opponent has a pole arm, one of you has an Gods can heal you if you ask. A God can clean advantage — and it ain’t you. up all a Hero’s Wounds with a single Divinity eff ort. If he lives up to his own abilities at being Point. clever, I give him two dice (that way, both the clever and non-clever player both get the same Non-violent combat reward for living up to their own potential). If Not all contests are physical; some are mental the player goes above and beyond his usual level or even social. For example, of performance, I give him three bonus dice to let’s use the classic fantasy roll. But, that’s just me. You may RPG contest, better known as Verbal and Cereberal like giving “roleplaying bonuses” “seducing the barmaid.” Duels or you may not. Duels of wit and intellect My character has 3 Devotion can be just as much fun - The Repartee Reserve for the Goddess of Love. Th e and just as dangerous - as a Th is is a pool of dice the player GM (playing the barmaid) fi ght with sword and shield. adds to whenever he’s clever, decides this buxom wench has 2 Tales of samurai playing witty or just plain funny. In other Devotion for the same Goddess. Go with the loser bowing words, if the player roleplays We both roll dice and we keep his head for a quick slice of well, actively contributes to rolling using the same method his opponent’s katana are conversations and otherwise just described above: We keep rampant through Japanese makes his character seem “real,” making “attacks” (me, fl irting; folklore. Arthur’s knights I give him one Point to add to her rebuking) until my character were faced with puzzles his Repartee Reserve at the end gets a kiss or a slap, depending on just as oft en as jousts. And of each session. He keeps these the outcome of the contest. what knight’s tale would be Points between sessions and can Now, some players are very complete without a run-in trade them in for dice he uses witty and some are not. Some can with an enchantress, looking during any verbal exchange. And be funny on the fl y while some for a few knights to fi ll her once they’ve been spent, you can’t get a good line in every once in bedcha-I mean, court, court! get them back unless you earn a while, and there are a few you yourself more. just have to pry out of their shells with a big, fat character reward crowbar. While Getting Hurt Other Ways this is a roleplaying game, which intimates good Now we come to all the nitty gritty details. roleplaying should be rewarded with bonuses How much damage does fi re do? How about and bad roleplaying punished with penalties, I poison? How about falling damage? Well, to be don’t see why a player who isn’t clever or craft y honest, I usually handle this stuff on the fl y when can’t get a reward for trying. So, here’s what I do I’m the GM, even in games that give me specifi c to make sure everybody gets a chance to get a rules for it (I don’t like pausing the game to look kiss from the barmaid. up a rule). So, I’ll give you a few guidelines and encourage you to be creative and treat every Bonus Dice circumstance as its own specifi c rule. First, if the player just rolls dice for the exchange with the barmaid without even trying Falling to be clever, charming or witty, he gets no help If you have to wonder if a hero can survive a from me. (If you don’t try, you don’t get the fall, he probably can’t. My buddy the forensic prize.) If he makes even a simple attempt at specialist tells me if the human body takes a 20 being witty, I give him one bonus die for the to 30 foot fall, it generally doesn’t get back up 16 17 on its own. Anything higher than that is risking minutes, divide the penalties into seconds. Th at’s internal hemorrhaging and a slow, painful death. how I’d do poisons. If you want something a bit more “heroic,” roll one die per ten feet the character falls. Every odd Knock Outs is a Wound. If someone hit me over the head with something heavy, I wouldn’t be checking for hit Fire points, I’d be on the fl oor, bleeding from the Getting burned for real isn’t like getting head, suff ering from a concussion, throwing up burned in the movies. You can’t out-run an all over myself. Of course, we want a system that explosion: you have mass, fi re has next to none. simulates the literature that inspired it, so if you However, it is fun to watch the hero run down successfully sneak up and hit someone over the the corridor away from the tumbling pillar of head, they’re knocked out and won’t wake up fl ame, so lets work something out. Once fi re hits until it’s absolutely the least opportune time for you, it continues to burn. You’ve got to get any them to do so. burning clothes or accoutrements off before they get to your skin (as opposed to real life where the Last Word on Wounds fi re just melts your clothes and skin together). I’d Like everything else on a character sheet, say roll dice equal to the size of the fi re and every Wounds are a method of communication odd does one Wound until the fi re is put out. between the player and the GM. “I want to be A small fi re (campfi re) is three dice. A large fi re strong!” the player says; he communicates this (like your classic fi reball) is fi ve dice. For every to the GM by having a strong character. “I want item of clothing, the GM gets to roll once for to be a social character!” the player says; she the fi re. Th us, if your shirt and pants are on fi re, communicates this by having lots of social skills. the GM gets to roll twice. Wounds are a way for the GM to communicate to the player. Th ey indicate a Poison general degree of health the player’s character is Most poisons kill you right on the spot, rather in. Th e more Wounds a character has, the more than just make you sick or kill you over time. But it communicates to his player that he’d better in fantasy literature, there’s a rich tradition of the keep an eye on his character. slow poison, giving the hero ample opportunity to fi nd an exotic cure for his impending doom. Use Wounds as a guide; not as an absolute. Th us, I’d suggest giving each poison a deadline Not all Wounds are the same: a broken leg is not and divide the amount of time between contact on the same level as a gash across the forearm. and that deadline into even segments. For Use Wounds to tell stories, not keep track of example, if a poison has a twenty-four hour gory details. deadline (you get poisoned on Saturday at noon, you die on Sunday at noon), divide those twenty-four hours into 4 segments. Each segment gives the character a cumulative —1 to all actions. So, every 6 hours he gets another penalty. If the deadline is one month (now that’s a slow poison), divide into days. If the deadline is CHAPTER 3: DEVOTION & DIVINITY Every once in a while, a Hero needs your help, and what’s a God for if it isn’t answering petitions of prayer? Your Divinity Points are sitting right in front of you, and they are your key to helping Heroes out in their times of need.

Starting Divinity Points Gods start each session with a number of Divinity Points equal to the total Devotion the Heroes have for your God. Go around the table and have each Hero tell you how much Devotion he has for you. Th e total Devotion is the number of Divinity Points you gain at the beginning of the game. You retain any Divinity you saved from last game, so add these new points to your old points. Divinity can be used in many ways. You can spend Divinity to assert your divine authority, help a Hero, curse him, create miracles, or bestow blessings. Each is discussed below.

Domain A God has a certain amount of power based on whether or not he has authority on a matter. For example, when you seduce the barmaid (again), the Goddess of Love has Domain. When you fi ght a villain with knives, the God of the Battlefi eld has Domain. When you call on your knowledge of poisons and venoms, the God of Wisdom has Domain. Domain is an important concept to understand because it is the lynchpin for using Divinity. Using a God’s Divinity is easier within his or her Domain. Using Divinity outside your Domain is much more diffi cult.

Divine Authority In most RPGs, if players have questions, they ask the GM. In Enemy Gods, if players have questions, they consult the proper authority: the Gods. If the players raise a question during the game and a God can answer the question, he spends one Divinity to assert his authority over reality. When a God has Domain, it is easier for the God to give inspiration, bestow miracles, and otherwise use Divinity. For example, a group of Heroes are standing in a village. Raiding trolls are stealing away villagers. Th ey come in the night, attack a single homestead, leaving no one alive to tell the tale. One of the Heroes asks, “I’m a hunter. What do I know about trolls?” Usually, this question would go to the GM, but in this circumstance, the God of Wisdom — the font of all knowledge — can answer the question. Th e God of Wisdom spends one Divinity and answers the question. “You know very little,” he replies. “But you do know trolls cannot simply be killed. Th ey must be burned or they rise up again under the light of the moon.”

18 19 Another example: two armies stand ready to Convocation Example match skills and swords. A player has a question: In the instance of the villagers and the trolls who has the advantage? Th e GM turns to the above, one Hero prays to the God of Justice, God of the Battlefi eld. “Who does have the asking if the trolls’ actions against the villagers advantage?” Th e God of the Battlefi eld spends a are just. Th e God of Justice spends a Divinity Divinity and answers, “Th e army of the Yellow and says, “Yes.” Th e Goddess of the Hearth, on Moon. Th ey have the advantage.” the other hand, spends a Divinity and says, “No, it is not.” A fi nal example: a player asks, “How long would it take me to forge a sword?” Th e God Because two Gods have spent Divinity to assert of Craft spends a Divinity and answers: “One authority, they may call a Convocation. Now, all month.” the other Gods have an opportunity to spend Divinity for an opportunity to vote on the issue. Th e GM always has fi nal say over Divine Authority, but if he does veto a God’s answer, the Th e God of Justice argues the trolls are, in fact, God does not have to spend Divinity. making justice by attacking the villagers. Long ago, the trolls lived here and the fi elds and crops For example, the God of the Battlefi eld has belonged to them. But, humans moved into just answered, “Th e army of the Yellow Moon the land and drove out the trolls. Now, many has the advantage.” Th e GM replies, “No. Th ey generations later, the trolls are taking their don’t.” Th e God of the Battlefi eld does not have land back. By declaring that the trolls’ actions to spend Divinity because the GM has vetoed his are just, the God of Justice is saying the battle Authority. is under his Domain, and not any other Gods’ Domain. Contesting Domain Sometimes, an issue of Domain isn’t quite Th e Goddess of the Hearth argues that the clear. For example, if a man is in a sword fi ght for people living on the land now should not be his true love, does the Goddess of Love or the punished for what their ancestors did. She also God of the Battlefi eld hold Domain? If he is in a brings up the fact that the God of the Battlefi eld sword fi ght against his true love, does that change should be careful — the God of Justice is the answer? If a group of farmers want to better trying to usurp the Bloody God’s authority their crops, does the God of Wisdom or the and Domain in this circumstance. Th e God of Goddess of the Hearth hold domain? the Battlefi eld agrees and snarls at the God of Justice. If the issue of Domain is contested, both Gods have the opportunity to spend Divinity to assert Finally, the GM announces there’s been enough their right of Domain. Th e God who spends discussion and all the Gods should vote. Each the most Divinity is the one who may assert his God secretly votes and in the end it is decided authority on the matter. the God of Justice is wrong; the trolls’ action is not just and the Goddess of the Hearth is Divine Convocation correct. Th e villagers are protecting their homes, For players who want to emulate the and thus, the Goddess of Hearth and Home has disagreements between Gods and play some of Domain over the matter. the political game between Deities, I recommend the following rules. If two Gods ever disagree on an issue of Devotion to you. Th at is, if the Goddess of Love authority, they may call a Divine Convocation. wants to help a Hero seduce the barmaid (there Either the GM or a God may call a Convocation. she is again), every Divinity Point she spends All mortal activity ceases while the Gods gather gives that Hero a number of dice to roll equal to to discuss the issue of authority. his Devotion to the Goddess. Each God has the opportunity to spend one Divinity. He does not need to spend a Divinity Outside Your Domain to attend the Convocation, but he does need to Helping Heroes outside your sphere of spend a Divinity to vote at the end of it. If a God infl uence costs a bit more. Inspiring your Hero does not spend a Divinity, he may speak at the outside your Domain costs one Divinity Point Convocation, but he may not have a say in its per die rolled. Th us, if the Goddess of Love decision. wants to help a Hero in a sword fi ght, she has to spend one Divinity Point to give him one bonus During the Convocation, all the Gods discuss die. the matter at hand, deciding the issues presented. At the end of the Convocation, all the Gods who Quick Note spent Divinity at the beginning of the gathering Gods do not use Divinity Points to give are allowed a single vote. Th e winning side has Heroes dice for Risks; those are part of the basic Divine Authority over the matter. system. Th e dice Gods give out as Inspiration are At any time during the Convocation, if the a separate mechanic all together. Just in case you GM feels the meeting is going too long or the were confused. arguments are getting stale, he may call for an immediate vote. Intervention & Retribution Gods are powerful beings, capable of ripping Divine Inspiration up mountains, draining oceans, creating rivers, Heroes use their Devotion to a God to and making lead into gold. At the beginning of determine how many dice they roll for a Risk, this game, we talked about defi ning the nature but sometimes, that isn’t quite enough. When a of your pantheon, and what your Gods were Hero needs it, Gods reach down into the world capable of doing. Can they directly manipulate and touch that Hero, giving his abilities a little nature? Can they turn the sky black and make umph. Th is moment of Divine Inspiration the clouds rain blood? Can they send manna augments the existing strengths of the Hero, down to feed their hungry people? It’s all up to making him a little stronger, a little faster or you and the GM. Talk about it. a little smarter than he already is. We call this Th ere is one rule about Divine Intervention Divine Inspiration and it allows you to give that really should not be broken, and that’s your Hero additional dice to roll for any action. killing a Hero. Th is is strictly forbidden. You Divine Inspiration costs diff erently depending can smite down an army of ten thousand with on the circumstances. thunderbolts from the sky if you like, but you cannot kill a God’s Hero. Within Your Domain If you help your Hero in a fi eld that falls under Any another mortal can do that. your infl uence, every Divinity Point you spend If you are Poseidon and you want to keep gives that Hero a number of dice equal to his Athena’s Champion away from home for twenty 20 21 years (thus drawing Athena’s wrath), that’s all Divine Intervention (Miracles) right. Just remember: never make an enemy who Every once in a while, a God has to really pull you can’t kill. off some serious mojo to help his Hero out. Odysseus is actually a good example to bring Whether this is parting the Red Sea, knocking up right about now, because being lost at sea for down arrows fl ying at the Hero’s back or saving twenty years is exactly what he deserved. Aft er his ship from sinking between the Scylla and the Trojan War, Odysseus looted the temples of Kharibdis, we call this blatant use of divine Troy, destroying altars of all the Gods. Poseidon power Divine Intervention. didn’t like that, so he punished Odysseus by Any God can push his Hero a little here and keeping him away from home for two decades. there, but it takes some serious power to change At the end of the Odyssey, he asks Athena the world, even for just a moment. Divine — his patron — why she didn’t help him (a Intervention is a little trickier than simply common question for Heroes; they never notice inspiring a single person, and it requires a lot of when you’re around). Athena just shook her Divinity Points. head and said, “I couldn’t help you.” Step One: Devotion Rank Th is implies rules mortals are not aware of, When performing a miracle, determine the rules that bind even the Gods. Come up with a target Hero’s Devotion Rank. For every Divinity set of rules for your pantheon. What happens Point you spend, you can roll a number of dice to a mortal who off ends them? Do the Gods equal to the Devotion of the Hero. have the right to meddle with them, even if they are Heroes of a rival God? And can the patron For example, the Hero you want to target has of that Hero aid their beloved mortal, or must 3 Devotion to you, so every Devotion Point you they watch from the sidelines and hope? Athena spend gives you 3 dice to roll for your miracle. did. And at the end of it all, she got the greatest If the miracle does not aff ect a specifi c Hero Greek Hero of them all. (or NPC), you must spend 1 Divinity for every Most curses can take the form of a simple die die. penalty related to the God’s sphere of infl uence. Step Two: Infl uence You may also forbid a Hero from touching If your miracle falls within your sphere of a specifi c material. A Hero who cannot touch infl uence, there is no penalty. If it does not, the iron, for example, would put out any combat- miracle’s Divinity cost is doubled. oriented Hero quite well. On the other hand, a scholarly Hero who can’t touch books without For example, the God of the Battlefi eld suff ering a Wound is in a whole diff erent world wants to prevent a Hero in a Duke’s court from of pain. drinking a cup of poisoned wine. Th e Hero has a 4 Devotion to the God of the Battlefi eld. Using a Hero’s vanity against her is a classic Because this miracle does not fall within the method of divine punishment. Medusa’s curse God’s sphere of infl uence, Dyr must spend two is the most famous, of course, but there are Divinity to gain four dice (based on the Hero’s so many examples of Gods punishing Heroes Devotion of four.) with curses related to their greatest strength. Be creative and just a little cruel. But, be warned! If you are too cruel, you may lose the Devotion of the other Heroes. Step Three: Help and Hindrances TN 10: Vast Interventions such as raining Finally, other Gods can either help or hinder fi re and ash down an entire city, parting a sea, your miracle. leveling a mountain range, or making every fi rst- Gods with more Divinity Points than you born child in a city die. (before you started spending them for your If you succeed, your miracle works. If not, your miracle) can spend one Divinity Point to miracle fails. subtract or add a number of dice equal to the Hero’s Devotion to them. A God can only do Divine Retribution (Curses) this once per Divine Intervention. Sometimes, Heroes get out of line and need If a God has less Divinity than you, the cost to to be reminded of their place in the world interfere is doubled. (which is worshiping the Gods, of course). When its obvious a Hero has become too big for For example, the Goddess of Love wants to his britches, you may decide to give him some aid one of her priestesses by making another Divine Retribution — also known as Cursing Hero fall in love with her. Th e priestess has a the Hero. (Smiting is a good word, too.) 5 Devotion to the Goddess of Love, so every Divinity the Goddess spends gives her 5 dice for Mythology is full of Gods who take off ense at her miracle. the littlest things and punish mortals mercilessly for it. (Th ere’s even a story about one God who But the God of Craft doesn’t appreciate the did it for nothing more than a bet.) You may Goddess’s meddling, so he decides to interfere. choose to smite a Hero at any time; you’re a At the moment, the Goddess of Love has 12 God, there’s nothing stopping you from being Divinity and the God of Craft has 14. Th us, jealous, wrathful, and belligerent if you feel a the God of Craft has more Divinity than the mortal has off ended you. Goddess of Love, so interfering with her miracle When you choose to smite a Hero, use a will not cost double. formula similar to the formula for performing a Th e priestess has a 2 Devotion to the God of miracle. Craft , so every Divinity he spends subtracts 2 dice from the Goddess of Love’s miracle roll. He Step One: Using the Hero’s Hubris may only spend one Divinity to interfere, but Against Him there is nothing stopping him from convincing When casting a curse, every point of Divinity the God of Fortune to interfere as well… you spend gets you a number of dice equal to that Hero’s Hubris. Step Four: Making the Roll Th e GM assigns a Target Number, you roll the Step Two: Determine the Curse’s dice, and see if your God succeeds: Strength Roll your dice, and if you roll higher than TN 5: Small Interventions such as healing the Hero’s Devotion to your God, your curse is wounds, stopping a fatal blow, or letting a Hero successful. If not, it doesn’t aff ect him. Tell the walk on water. hapless Hero what Doom has befallen him, and TN 7: Major Interventions such as moving tell him the number of successes you got on your a Hero across the world overnight, making a roll. Th e Hero writes down the curse and your marching army get lost in the woods, or draining number of successes. a lake.

22 23 Whenever a God successfully curses a Hero, Blessings cost 5 Divinity to bestow and 5 the Hero decides if his Devotion to that Divinity to revoke. God falls by one. He doesn’t have to drop his For example, a follower of the God of the Devotion; the choice is his. Battlefi eld has a Battle Devotion of 3. He may For example, the Goddess of Love wants to use up to 3 Battle Blessings per game session. curse a Hero for performing a poem without So far, the God of the Battlefi eld has given this invoking her (he used his Hubris rather than follower two Blessings: Berserk and Slash. Th e invoking the Goddess). Th e Hero has a 3 follower may use Berserk three times in one day Hubris and a 3 Love Devotion. She spends and never use Slash at all, or he may use Slash three Divinity for 9 dice (3 Hubris x 3 = 9). three times. Or, he may choose to use Slash twice Th e Goddess’ player rolls the dice and gets 4 and Berserk once. successes. Because she rolled more successes A God of the Battlefi eld who gives his warriors than the Hero’s Devotion, the curse is successful. the ability to become bloodthirsty berserks Th e player of the Hero writes “Cursed by the on the battlefi eld; a Goddess of Love who’s Goddess of Love: 4” on his Hero’s sheet. Th e priestesses can make any man fall in love with Hero decides not to lower his Devotion to the them with a single kiss; a God of Craft who Goddess, hoping he can win her favor again. teaches his followers the secrets of metalworking no other living soul knows; these are just some Burning a Curse examples of Blessings that Gods can give to the Th ere are two ways of getting rid of a curse. faithful. At the end of each game, a Hero is given 2 Again, if you’d like to see some sample Devotion Points to put toward increasing his Blessings, check out the sample Gods in Devotions. He may burn one of those Devotion Appendix 1. Points to burn one Curse Rank. Th e Hero may also burn one Hubris Rank to Ranks of Faith burn one Rank of the Curse. As a Hero’s Devotion increases, his Blessings relationship to that God also increases, allowing A God can also use Divinity to give a Hero for more potent uses of Divinity. Blessings. Th ese are permanent bonuses on the Devotions up to 3 are typical for Heroes and Hero’s sheet — permanent until that Hero loses do not bestow any special benefi ts. Devotions of favor with you and you take them away, that is. 4 or higher, on the other hand, give a Hero and Th e rules for Blessings are as follows: the God in question a few notable advantages. A Hero may call upon a number of Blessings Devotion 4: Acolyte from a God equal to his Devotion to that God. If a Hero has a 4 Devotion to a God, he is Th e Blessing should adhere to the God’s known as an acolyte. He is considered favored theme. by that God who listens to his prayers more Th e Blessing can do one thing. Th e berserker intently. A Hero may be an acolyte of many rage, the lustful kiss, the knowledge to make Gods, but be careful; those Gods are known to a specifi c kind of weapon or item are all good be both jealous and wrathful. Your Hero may examples of Blessings that do a single thing. also choose not be an Acolyte of a God. Th e same warnings apply. Prayer Requirements When the Acolyte calls upon the God in In order for a Hero to become a Champion, question, he may re-roll one die per Risk. she must fi rst accomplish a few minor tasks. For example, an Acolyte of the God of Th e Hero must have at least 5 Defi ning Wisdom calls upon the God of Wisdom for Moments. knowledge about a specifi c region’s history. Th e Hero’s Devotion to that God must be at When he rolls his dice, he may re-roll any one least 6 and no other Devotion can be higher die for the chance of rolling another success. than 5. As soon as a Hero becomes a Champion, all other Devotions higher than 5 drop to 5. Devotion 5: Anointed Finally, a God may have only one player At Devotion 5, the Hero is considered an character champion at a time. Although, anointed priest or priestess of the God and may there may be other Champions out there, be initiated in the mystery rites of the God. somewhere… A Hero may only be a priest of one God at a time, regardless of his other Devotions. In other Benefi ts words, a Hero can have multiple Devotions of 5, Th ere are many benefi ts to being a God’s but he can only be a Priest of one God at a time. Champion: Mystery Rites When your God Divinely A Note on Death When a priest calls upon a Intervenes on your behalf, it costs “Don’t let me go out like some God, his Devotion to the God other Gods double to interfere. punk.” provides great power. Once –attributed to Samuel If your God wants to give you a per game, a priest can perform Jackson, speaking to George Blessing, it costs only 3 Divinity rites to give his God power. Lucas Points rather than 5. Performing the rite takes an Finally, if your God wants to entire night, leaving the priest Character death can be invoke a miracle, he can do so by exhausted at the end of the senseless, but a Hero’s death is channeling Divinity through you. ritual (an Advantage to any almost never without reason Under normal circumstances, opponents). At the end of that or meaning. We’re talking Gods have to use Divinity 1-for-1 time, the God gains Divinity about mythological heroes for miracles that do not directly equal to the Devotion of his here, folks. Everything about target you. Because you are a Priest. them has meaning. How they were born, how they live, how living avatar of your God, he can send the Divinity through you, Devotion 6: Champion they brush their teeth, and allowing you to call upon his A champion is a Hero who yes, how they die. Killing a power and perform miracles at has so much Devotion for a character because some punk the usual cost (1 Divinity = your single God, he becomes a living gets a lucky roll is not only Devotion in dice). symbol of that God’s power. “unfun,” it also fl ies in the face of everything myth is Becoming a Champion is not The Hero’s Flaw about. A Hero’s death is just easy; the Hero needs more than At some time during the game, as important as his life. Don’t just Devotion to be a God’s a Hero’s Flaw will come into play, waste it on an unlucky die champion. either by chance or fate. No God roll. Make something of it. can spend Divinity Points to 24 25 protect him. Th ey can’t summon fl oods to wash her away from danger, they can’t lift her onto a cloud away from poison arrows… nothing. At some time in every myth, the Hero must face her worst fears alone, without the help of the Gods. Th is is that time. In order for a Hero’s Flaw to come into play, a God (PC or NPC) must Call the Flaw. A God spends fi ve Divinity Points to call a Hero’s Flaw. By spending fi ve Divinity Points at the beginning of a game session, before anything else happens, a Hero becomes destined to encounter his Flaw during that game session. When it happens is up to the player (or GM) who spent the Divinity Points. When your Hero’s Flaw is invoked, no God may spend any Divinity Points to help her in any way. Th e Hero must overcome the situation without any divine help. Th ere is an upside to all this, by the way. If your Hero survives the situation, it is automatically considered a Defi ning Moment. If your Hero doesn’t survive encountering her Flaw… well, its time to get a new Hero. CHAPTER 5: MAKING Y OUR HERO BETTER

At the end of every game session, your Hero see fi t. Your Hubris can also fl uctuate depending and your God both receive two “Devotion on other circumstances. See Devotion & Points.” Divinity, above. Your Hero’s sheet has a place for “Devotion Points.” Every point invested in a Devotion Defi ning Moments represents you trying to increase your Th ere are moments in a Hero’s life that are so relationship with that God. remarkable, so memorable, that they become part of his legacy. Th ese are his Defi ning First, your Hero spends his Devotion Points. Moments. Th eseus defeating the Minotaur in He has two, so he can put them both in one the heart of its own labyrinth, Odysseus slaying Devotion or one point in two Devotions. all the suitors, Th or winning back Mjolnir from Second, your God gives his two Devotion the Frost Giant Th rym (in a dress, no less); these Points to a Hero or Heroes. He may only put are moments for a Hero that live on throughout Devotion Points toward his own Devotion (the Eternity. When a Hero does something so Goddess of Love can only put Devotion Points remarkable that even the Gods must pause and on your Devotion to her, not your Devotion gape in awe… game mechanics must be invoked! to the God of War). Likewise, he can give two As a player, you know these moments. When Devotion Points to one Hero or one Point to everything is right, when every player stands up two Heroes. and cheers, when the GM stands slack jawed at If a Hero has a number of Devotion Points the unexpected brilliance of a player’s actions equal to three times his current Devotion, that — this is a Defi ning Moment. When such a Devotion increases by one. moment occurs, the Gods have an opportunity For example, at the end of a game, my Hero to reward the Hero appropriately. Each God has 2 Devotion Points to spend. Likewise, my may give up Divinity Points in recognition of God has 2 Devotion Points to give away. I the mighty deed. A God may only give a number decide my Hero spends one Devotion on the of Divinity Points equal to the Hero’s Devotion God of the Battlefi eld and one on the Goddess to that God. If 5 Divinity Points are given up of Love. Likewise, I decide my God (the God of in this way, the Hero earns a Defi ning Moment. Wisdom) grants two Devotion Points to a single Write it down on his Hero sheet. Hero. Th ese points are automatically allocated to At the end of each game session, if a Hero had his Wisdom Devotion. a Defi ning Moment during that game, he gains one free point to allocate to any Devotion or Hubris Hubris. Hubris increases diff erently. Every time you use your Hubris, it gains a point. When you gain six Hubris points, your Hubris increases by one. Also, whenever your Hubris increases, you gain another Background point. You may increase a current Background, or create a new one as you

26 27 APPENDIX 1: THE PANTHEON Th e Pantheon below is the default set of divinities for Enemy Gods. If you’d like to use a diff erent pantheon or even make up your own, consult Appendix 3. Each God in the pantheon has a brief description, a list of allies and rivals as well as some sample Blessings he can bestow. Th ere are no real rules for Blessings. I just made them up. Th ey aren’t balanced in any way, nor do I feel they should be. Th ese are acts of divine grace. Th e will of the Gods. What in the world is “balanced” about the will of a God? Anyway, use the examples of the Blessings below to come up with your own Blessings.

God of the Battlefi eld: Falvren Dyr “I don’t need your help, Bloody One! Stay up there in the sky and don’t get in the way!” — Typical prayer to Falvren Dyr Falvren Dyr (dire) appears as a large man with fl owing red hair. His armor shines like the sun, his blade carved from the moon. On his shield is the head of the God of Darkness whom he slew in personal combat at the beginning of Time. Th e scars he bears are from every war ever fought. Dyr’s followers espouse a life of self-reliance; a strange dichotomy for those devoted to a God. Dyr despises prayer and those who ask for assistance. Rather, he blesses those who survive on their own wits, cunning, and strength. Dyr only drops his hand to protect those who show courage and prowess in battle; he never assists those who ask for it. A God who doesn’t like being relied upon, worshiped by heroes who don’t like relying on anyone. It’s a perfect fi t.

Allies & Rivals Dyr doesn’t like anyone, but his brilliant tactician mind knows well enough that he can’t stand alone. He tries to maintain alliances with the other Gods, but the fact of the matter is his temper always gets the better of him. He has a brotherly hate-love relationship with the God of Craft (his true brother) and doesn’t tolerate the God of Fortune’s tricks. He is always trying to impress the Goddess of Love (who does her best to dissuade him from doing so), and thinks the God of Wisdom is a sissy. But, if called upon, he would fi ght to the death to defend any of them. Th at’s Dyr. And he wouldn’t want to be any other way.

Blessings Praying to Falvren Dyr is always a tricky task; he despises those who ask for help and rely on others for strength. Th erefore, prayers to the God of the Battlefi eld sound more like curses and boasts than petitions of humility. Below are listed some of the most common blessings Dyr has been known to bestow. Each costs 5 Divinity. Battle Cunning Two-Weapons During a battle, the Hero may subtract Your Hero has gained enough skill with a dice from his attack to subtract dice from his weapon that he may employ one in each hand. opponent’s Advantages. Th is eff ect lasts until the Th is grants him two Advantage Dice in combat. end of the battle. Slash Berserk You may make two attacks in a row. In order to invoke this Gift , the Hero must taste blood (it may be his own). Roll a die at God of Craft: Aelon Valeron the beginning of each round, noting the roll. If “He has only one arm, but he has no need for any subsequent roll is lower than the previous two.” roll, the Berserk is invoked. Th is means a Hero cannot, by default, berserk on the fi rst round. Aelon is oft en called “the Wounded God” for he is missing his right arm. He gave it up to forge Berserk lasts until the end of the current an anvil, Urdrazen. His blood and fl esh cooled combat scene. During that scene, the Hero has 4 the hot metal from the center of the world, his Advantage Dice to attack and does not suff er the divine essence blessing the hardened iron. Now, eff ects of any Wounds. At the end of the combat, anything made from the anvil is stronger than he drops unconscious from exhaustion. Also, his any material found in the world. Blood iron Wounds fi nally take eff ect. weapons made upon it are the desire of every A berserk has no control while under the warrior in the world — as is any item Aelon blood rage, attacking friend and foe alike. While Valeron creates. berserking, the God of the Battlefi eld directs But Aelon is more than just a blacksmith; he the Hero. Th at is, Falvren Dyr chooses whom is a God of many means. As God of Craft , he is the Hero attacks. Th e player of the Hero makes skilled in nearly every endeavor. He is a master all the rolls and chooses how to attack his sailor, a cooper, a tailor, and a brewer without opponent, but the God of War directs the Hero’s peer. Creation is his trade, and any who seek to hand. better their skills need seek no further than the For example, Th yn has the Berserk Gift and temples of Aelon Valeron. bites his own tongue to taste blood before going into battle. On the fi rst round, he rolls a die and Allies & Rivals gets a result of 3. Because there was no previous Valeron is oft en depicted disagreeing with his round, he cannot roll lower than his fi rst roll. headstrong, bloodthirsty brother. Of the two, On the second round, he rolls a 5. Because this Valeron is obviously the more “cerebral.” While is not lower than his previous roll, his Berserk is the two don’t quite get along, they are brothers. not yet active. On the third round, he rolls a 1. It is also said Aelon has a particular fondness Because this roll is lower than his previous roll, for the Goddess of Love. Some claim the two his Berserk is now active. were lovers, although the aff air ended poorly. Followers of Valeron say she still pines for Master Parry the Blacksmith, although the followers of the If the Hero has any weapon in his hand Goddess of Love know a diff erent ending of the (including an improvised one), he can cancel story. four successes in any roll to hit made against him. 28 29 Relics (Aelon’s Blessings) Fire or a Shadow Kiss Medallion or a Dead Valeron does not act much in the world; Man’s Eye is irrelevant. All we’re looking for is heroes go to seek him out. He believes in self- how many Advantage Dice it gives the Hero. reliance, in making one’s own way in the world. Th ere are many ways to interpret “Advantage” It is said that when a follower of the Wounded and “Drawback.” We encourage players to be God dies, Valeron’s angels, the valere, come to creative with the kinds of powers an item can bring the hero to him. Th ere, the hero must have, as seen from the examples below. prove his worth to join the warriors who drink at his table. If he does not, he is cast out into the The Sword of Elder Fire world as restless dead, forever lamenting he was An enchanted blade that burns when not cunning enough to sit at Valeron’s table. drawn, the Sword of Elder Fire provides three But Valeron does not leave his followers Advantages: helpless; he assists them in subtle ways. He gives When in the dark, the Sword lights the Hero’s them insight into their own abilities, shows them way. their own strengths and helps them overcome It can also set anything fl ammable on fi re. their own weaknesses. His valere also appear from time to time, carrying weapons made from When striking, the heat and fl ickering fl ames Aelon’s mighty anvil. are distracting and can burn an opponent. (1 Advantage Die in combat.) Relics are Blessings bestowed by the God of Craft . He does not grant the usual Blessings, Th ese three advantages are set-off by the but items of great power to aid those who revere sword’s three drawbacks: him. Whether it is Excalibur, the Aegis Shield, If the sword is wet with water, it will not burn. Stormbringer, or the Ancestral Sword of the Th e sword can be broken. Crane Clan, as far as game mechanics go, a Relic is a pool of Advantage Dice linked to thematic Th e sword can be taken away. advantages and weaknesses. The Shadow Kiss Medallion Giving a Relic to a Hero costs the God of Th is Relic — said to have been made for the Craft 5 Divinity per Advantage. For every 5 high priestess of the Goddess of Love — allows Divinity spent on the Relic, it must also have a the one who wears it to move between shadows drawback. without being seen. (+2 to all Stealth rolls.) Th e most typical drawback for an Item is Unfortunately, the item also has two “Can Be Taken Away” or “Can Be Broken,” drawbacks: but there are more creative drawbacks to give Relics. Michael Moorcock’s Elric has the world’s Once someone has seen the medallion’s magic, most wicked Relic: the willful runeblade they are never aff ected by it again, and Stormbringer. Th at thing is chock full of Th e Relic’s power will not work in brightly lit drawbacks — the fact that the blade likes killing areas. Elric’s closest friends and loved ones is just a start. The Dead Man’s Eye So, if Aelon give a Hero an Relic or weapon Th is item, a golden eye set with sapphires and that gives him +3 Advantage dice, it costs 15 rubies, is one of the Blacksmith’s fi nest creations. Divinity. Whether that Relic is a Sword of Elder Th e one who uses it must close his eyes to do so. When he does, he can see if a man or woman is encounter with an unclaimed bag of gold, a cart in league with the Fell Gods. He may also see of hay that happens to pass by when a Hero any invisible creatures (or people) within his area jumps from a tall window: these are all miracles of vision. (Two Advantages.) attributed to Ashalim Avendi. Avendi provides Unfortunately, the Eye has two drawbacks: for his followers, but such miracles are not without a price. Avendi only blesses those who Th e eye is very fragile and easily broken. realize their fortunes are easily lost and those Th e wielder must shut his eyes to use it and who assist others who have lost their own good completely concentrate, taking no other action. luck. A toss of a coin to a beggar, assisting a helpless lady in distress, or even helping an old God of Fortune: Ashalim woman across the road are small prices to pay for Avendi Avendi’s blessings. “Th ank Avendi for small favors, for his wrath The Cloak Deceiveous is never so small.” Th e Hero may disguise himself in a general Ashalim Avendi typically appears as an old, way: a soldier, guard, innkeeper, etc. Th e blessing blind man, althoug he has many forms. A story requires a cloak. Th e blessing causes any to look tells of a rich man who was accosted by a poor, upon the blessed as if he naturally belonged. blind churl sitting on the side of the road. Th e Th at is, if he is disguised as a guard in a castle, rich man shook his purse of coins at the poor the other guards would look at him as if he was man, mocking his poverty and ill fortune. Th e supposed to be where he was, doing what he was beggar smiled and said, “What you give is what doing. you get.” As it turned out, the beggar was none Th e Cloak Deceiveous only lasts until the other than the God of Fortune, and the story disguised Hero takes off the cloak or tells a lie. ends with the rich man on the side of the road, Once he tells a lie, the disguise is over. blind and penniless, holding out a cup, pleading for coins from his own servants who no longer Glamour’s Veil recognized him. Th e Hero can make himself or an item appear Th e followers of the God of Fortune remind diff erently than they normally appear. He cannot the world that the Avendi is a fi ckle god whose change the nature of the item, only alter its favors can turn on the toss of a coin. appearance. Th us, a copper coin could appear to be a gold coin, a rusted knife could appear to Allies & Rivals be a silver knife, or a beggar could appear to be a No God would openly call wrath on Avendi; king. Th e glamour remains until midnight. his followers would face an endless river of bad fortune. On the other hand, no God openly Lucky Coin adores Avendi, for they are very aware Avendi is Th e Hero fi nds a coin in his pocket worth one easily off ended and his wrath is ten times worse night’s stay in a good inn. Th e coin can be used than his blessing. to purchase other things as well, the night’s stay is just a relative value. Blessings At midnight, the coin disappears. Th is Avendi’s miracles appear as wild luck. A Blessing may be used once per day (rather than good hand of cards, the fl ip of a coin, a chance the standard once per game session).

30 31 Lucky Shot Allies & Rivals When invoked, this Blessing gives your Hero 3 Manna Renay’s chief rival is the Goddess of automatic successes on any roll. Love whom she sees as a harlot invader who has swooned the hearts of men and women away “Trust Me” from her worship. Meanwhile, she maintains a Th e Hero says one sentence, beginning or healthy relationship with the God of Craft . ending with the phrase “Trust me.” When he invokes this Blessing, anyone listening to the Blessings sentence will believe it to be sincere. Please note Manna Renay’s miracles are subtle and the diff erence between “sincere” and “true.” Th is powerful. Her priestesses teach the delicate arts Blessing cannot be used to convince someone of mothering. Th ose who revere her fi nd allies the sky is orange, but it can be used to convince among the guardian animals and may speak their someone of the Hero’s integrity. secret language. Children are most oft en witness Th is Blessing also cannot be used to convince to her divine interventions as she looks out for someone out of something they know to be true. them — especially orphans. For example, if a guard sees the Hero picking Beast’s Tongue a pocket, the Hero cannot convince the guard When invoking this Blessing, the Hero may he did not see what he thought he saw, but he hold one conversation with any animal. Th e can convince the guard that the other fellow is a conversation cannot be longer than fi ve minutes. “rotten, scabby, foul thief who deserved it.” Once hearing Manna Renay’s name, the animal will also perform a single task for the Hero. Goddess of the Hearth: If the task is life-threatening, the animal may Manna Renay refuse, depending on the situation and the “All the world is her child.” conversational skills of the Hero. Appearing as a round, happy, middle-aged Circle of Protection woman, Manna Renay is commonly known Th e Hero must draw a circle on the ground as the Goddess of Hearth and Home. A to invoke this Blessing. Drawing a circle takes shrine to her sits in a prominent place in every one round. Th e circle must be drawn on a solid household. While some may dismiss her as “the surface. It cannot be drawn on gravel. If it loses cooking goddess,” she is, in fact, the goddess of its integrity, the magic of the circle is broken. Motherhood, Childbirth, Medicine, and Safety. Drawing the circle on sand, for example, is She is oft en pictured with a cat and dog at her dangerous. Th e Hero must also know the True feet or under her hands as she was the one who Name of the person inside the circle. Once the taught men to domesticate these little guardians. circle is drawn, nothing may enter it. Nothing. She is also the protector of children and it is No arrows, no fi re, no swords, nothing. Nothing known that she whispers the secret language of may damage the circle but the person inside and her protectors (cats and dogs) in an infant’s ear the Hero who drew it. Th e circle lasts until dawn when it is still in its mother’s womb. Th ose who the next day. revere Manna Renay remember this language; those who do not, forget it. Hearthbread Cookies A Blessing originally given to Renay’s most famous high priestess, a single Hearthbread cookie heals all Wounds when eaten. Th e cookie those who wear the code need not eat, sleep, also feeds a person for a day. or drink. Th ey cannot be infected by disease A Hearthbread cookie may be split in two to or suff er the eff ects of poison. Th ey are also share with one other person. It may not be split completely bound by Drax’s laws, and even a further. slight slip jeopardizes the blessings bestowed by their god. Hearthward A paladin of Jonan Drax seldom — if ever — When the Goddesses’ name is written on uses weapons. His body is a weapon — infused the door of a house, no one may secretly enter. with the power of his god. Draxian paladins are As soon as any stranger of the house (someone oft en called upon by judges of the Empire for who is not within the house when the ward is their ability to sense truth and dispatch villainy. written) enters, the priestess knows someone And while they do not stand above the legal has violated the home and knows the intruder’s system (their god was the one who enacted it), True Name. Once the ward is broken, it must be they sometimes operate outside of it, to make re-cast. sure justice prevails even when law might fail.

Outpost Allies & Rivals When her name is written on an object and No God calls Drax an enemy. His Paladins left behind, the object will warn the Hero fi ght for justice regardless of the cost. Only a fool whenever anyone passes it by. If the Hero who would openly call the God of Justice an enemy. inscribed the outpost is asleep, he will waken. Openly. Th e Outpost can only send one warning, then it’s magic is gone. Blessings Th e Paladins of Jonan Drax do not rely on God of Justice: Jonan Drax their God for miracles, but rely on His Word to give them strength. Th e Laws tattooed to their “Th ere is only One Law, and it is His Law.” bodies give them tremendous power over evil, Th e god who is closest to the people is Jonan protecting them from evil magics that infl uence Drax, sometimes called “the compassionate,” the mind and body. Each Law is also a Vow: an sometimes called “the lawmaker.” It was Drax oath the paladin makes to uphold the laws of who handed down the fi rst formal Code of Laws Jonan Drax. people lived by. Th is 7-article code outlined a Unlike other Blessings, the Vows are not basic system of law and justice. It was because “invoked.” Th e Words of Jonan Drax are burned Drax so loved the world he gave it law and the onto the paladin’s body, scaring him and realization that with introspection, compassion changing him forever. Once he’s taken a Vow, and understanding, men could become better only his own actions can break it. Vows last until than what they were. they are broken. At this point, the tattoo fades. Th ose who follow Jonan Drax are called “paladins.” Th ese warrior-monks wear the Code Vow of Compassion of Law on their bodies: the very words tattooed It is said that a noble heart recognizes the pain to their fl esh. Th e ritual — which takes several in others and cannot turn from it. Th e Vow of days and is painful beyond description — Compassion makes it impossible for a paladin to empowers the paladin with blessings. It is said turn from those in need. Whenever he is asked

32 33 for help, a paladin must give whatever assistance Goddess of Love: Talia he can. As long as he maintains this Vow, he may “She is the Muse of All Muses, the Inspiration — once per game — demand the assistance of for All Beauty.” another. Th is person must do everything in their power to meet the paladin’s request for aid. Talia’s temples are exotic and foreign. Her priestesses (she accepts no priests) are beautiful, Vow of Fidelity witty, and well versed in the arts. All the arts. When a paladin takes a Vow of Fidelity, he A common misconception of Talia’s followers vows to “stay true” to one person, protecting that is that belong to a sex cult. Th is is incorrect. person from all harm. Th e person in question is Talia’s priestesses are skilled lovers, but they are usually an honorable soul, although not always. also painters, poets, sculptors, and musicians As long as the paladin maintains his Vow — (as well as composers). All artists revere Talia, always protecting the subject of his Vow — he seeing her as the archetypal muse of all muses. gains 4 Advantage Dice on any action that Talia’s priestesses know the proper methods directly protects that person. of preparing and eating elegant meals, the techniques of banter and debate, as well as the Vow of Truth high holy art of love. Like the other Vows, the Vow of Truth is tattooed to the paladin’s body: this one to In return for their devotion, the followers his chest. He swears to uphold the virtue of of Talia learn secret arts no other school or truth over lies, willing his heart to never suff er academy in the entire world knows. In addition, falsehood. Once the Hero makes this Vow, he she bestows blessings and magic that are secret… may never again tell a lie or the Vow is broken. and seldom seen. Th e use of magic for any Also, as long as he never breaks the Vow, he can mundane purpose is taboo. Even if only to save always tell when someone is telling him a lie. her own life, Talia’s priestesses are reticent to their secret magics outside the confi nes of Talia’s Vow of Valor Domain. Th e paladin makes a promise to never turn Allies & Rivals from meting out Jonan Drax’s justice. As long as he never turns from a battle against evil, he can It is said her chief enemy is the Goddess of the never be the target of emotion-based magic. Home who views Talia as an usurper; a foreign Jenny-Come-Lately who seeks to steal away the The Final Vow faithful followers of the All-Mother. Meanwhile, Th is Vow may only be given if the paladin Talia has been romantically linked to nearly has been branded with all of Jonan Drax’s other every other God in the Pantheon. Allegedly, Vows. Th e paladin makes a personal Vow, “I her favorite lover is the God of Craft , while her shall do _____.” Once this Vow is made, it will recent dalliance with the God of War has created come to pass, although the paladin will die a bit of tension between the two. accomplishing it. Blessings Th e Vow cannot be used to violate physical Talia almost never uses miracles, fi nding laws or to create unrealistic or absurd situations. them vulgar. Instead, she prefers the rigorous Rather, it is meant to allow a paladin to set right use of rituals and ordeals to make her followers a great wrong; his ultimate sacrifi ce is what gives stronger. While she will dip her hand the Vow its power. occasionally to protect a particularly devoted Wound. Th e Kiss may be maintained with the follower, she generally lets them fi ght (and win) target gaining an additional Wound every round. their own battles with cunning, skill, and charm. And kisses. The Enchanting Kiss When activated, the priestess can make the Priestesses are taught the Seven Secret Kisses; target feel the pangs of any emotion she deems powerful magics that have been known to fi t — except love. It can be anger, jealousy, enslave kings. While they are called kisses, the nervousness, or even heart-break, but none can powers are actually invoked by any particular cause a heart to feel untrue love… not even the kind of contact. Each kiss requires only a Goddess herself. Th e eff ects of this kiss last until moment of contact and another vital element: the next sunrise. the target’s trust. Contact between the priestess and the target cannot be initiated by her; the Goodnight Kiss target himself must touch the priestess. Th e When activated, the Kiss sets the target to priestess may extend her hand, but the target sleep until the next dawn. Nothing will wake must put his own hand in hers. Without this, him except a touch from the priestess who she cannot invoke any of her powers. originally kissed him. If the target touches the priestess, she may then activate any of the eff ects at any time. It The Muse’s Kiss could be immediately or the following week or When invoked, the target feels the pure later that night, just as she invokes the power of inspirational power of the Goddess of Love fi ll the kiss within the current month. If the moon his heart. He gains four Advantage Dice on has passed through her phases and the priestess his very next action. Th e eff ects of the kiss fade has not invoked the power of a kiss, she must re- thereaft er. invoke it with another touch. God of Wisdom: Tyane Bran Befuddling Kiss When activated, this Blessing causes the “Th e world is an imperfect place… only reason subject to become confused and bewildered with is pure.” an overwhelming tide of emotions. Th e subject His followers call him “the Patient One,” or loses a number of dice from each action equal “Tyane Bran, the Indefatigable.” He is always to half the priestess’s Love Devotion. Th e eff ects portrayed as a small man with long, well kept last until the next sunrise. hair and diligent eyes, standing to the side of an event, watching from a distance. He is always The Black Kiss watching, never acting. In the tales of the Patient Talia fi rst gave her priestesses the Black Kiss One, even the smallest actions are viewed as in response to violence against them in her monumental and full of meaning. He only temples. Th e Black Kiss may only be given chooses to act when it is most appropriate, when under specifi c circumstances; it is the exception it is most necessary, when it is most eff ective. to the aforementioned rules. Th e priestess’ lips His devoted follow his example, watching and must be blooded (either by her own blood or listening, providing their knowledge when it is another’s) and she must know the true name of needed, acting only when it is most necessary. the target. If she gives the Kiss with blood on her Th ey distain what they view as “the corrupt lips, whispering the target’s name, he receives a world of temptation” preferring the world of 34 35 thought and reason, the world of spontaneous weakness of an object or person lies. Even the and immediate action. weakness of an argument. Using this knowledge, he gains a number of Advantage Dice equal Allies & Rivals to his Wisdom Devotion. He can also reveal Tyane Bran and his followers are too isolated this weakness to another (watching a fi ght and to have enemies or allies, although the Fell Gods shouting out the weakness to one opponent, for despise him more than any other diety — more example), but the person he is communicating than they do Jonan Drax. to does not have his complete understanding. Blessings Another can only gain half his Wisdom Devotion if the monk reveals the weakness to Tyane Bran’s miracles take the form of bursts him. of enlightenment and insight in those who revere him. Th ey see connections between The Heart’s Riddle Revealed disparate facts, spot tiny details most miss and By spending an action, the monk can gain an awareness around them unparalleled by contemplate upon a person he knows or has any other. knowledge of (the target cannot be a complete stranger). When the moment is over, the monk A Moment of Insight knows that person’s motives exactly and what Th e monk suff ers a moment of pure insight, he plans on doing next. Th e person may be in a moment both painful and powerful. He is another town; distance is not an issue. Because immobilized by the moment, in touch with the monk knows the target, he can deduce from the mind of Tyane Bran. Once he recovers — his knowledge of that person what his plans may with a few moments — he awakens with a new be. perspective. When invoked, this power allows the player of The Most Evident Truth the monk to ask the GM or God of Wisdom one A monk must have at least three other question which must be answered truthfully. Blessings before he receives this one. When invoked, the monk declares one fact Wisdom’s Clarity to be true… and he is right. Whether that truth When invoked, this power allows the monk is that ogres cannot walk in sunlight without to sense falsehood. He may not see through turning to stone or that the Duke of Belshavay is illusions and the like, but he knows when really a sorcerer, the monk reveals this truth and things are not true. If he sees one of Ashalim it is fact. Avendi’s glamours, he knows something is wrong with the item; that it is not what it Th e truth revealed may only be one truth. It appears to be. Likewise, if a person is cloaked cannot be a number of truths linked by a theme. with Ikhalu’s shadow magic, the monk can sense For example, the monk could declare that the that something is in the room that cannot be Duke is indeed a sorcerer, but he cannot declare perceived. that the Duke is a sorcerer plotting to overthrow the Temple of Dyr. One truth. Th at’s all you get. The Softest Spot Th e monk’s truth may be disputed by the Th is Blessing requires one full action to Gods, but it requires three Divinity to do so. invoke as the monk observes his target. On his Th e God of Wisdom can spend one Divinity to next action, the monk knows exactly where the cancel the truth, or he can spend one Divinity to cancel out any other God’s dismissal of that sometimes visits omens on those who have been truth. targeted by his evil brother, Ikhalu, the Lord of Murder (see Th e Fell Gods, below). Lord of Death: Uhmume Allies & Rivals “Uhmume comes when his duty calls. No Th e priests of Uhmume tend are devoted sooner, no later.” solely to the service of the Lord of Death. Th is Uhmume is not a God; he is something else devotion earns them no favors from the Gods, entirely. Th ere are legends of the entities known although followers of Uhmume care little for as “Lords and Ladies” that pre-date the Gods, what Gods think or do. “Uhmume comes to but no historian has ever found any other Lord all,” is the typical answer for those challenging than Uhmume. an Uhmume priest for his fanatical devotion to Stories involving the Lord of Death are a single God. Th is does not mean followers of many and varied. It is said no man may look Uhmume never pay reverence to other Gods; upon Uhmume (uh-moom or uh-moom-ay; they just make no secret of the fact that their depending on dialect) and live. Others say any true devotion lies with the Lord of Death. living man who sees is struck blind, his hair turns white and his skin turns ashen. While there are The Fell Gods many stories of men who have seen Uhmume Th e Fell Gods are dark entities who were and lived to tell the tale, no one has ever actually defeated and driven from the world into the met one. Perhaps that is the most telling thing Land of Shadows. Worship of the Fell Gods is about these tales. forbidden but that doesn’t give the desperate Th ere are many tales of Uhmume’s appearance. pause. Th ose who want the kind of power the Some say he is a tall fi gure with a skull for a face, Fell Gods off er will always fi nd a way to contact standing in black robes that billow like smoke. their evil devoted. Others say he is a beautiful boy who kisses those While the names of the Fell Gods are never doomed for death. Others suggest Uhmume can uttered, their names are well known. Th ey are appear as any form he likes. Whatever he may Ikhalu, the Lord of Murder; Mahl, the Bloody- appear to be, Uhmume is the Lord of Death, Teared Widow; the Grinning God… Th ese dark, the inevitable end for all creatures. Th e world is foul entities are listed in Appendix 3, far away full of ghosts who still cling to the living lands; from curious players’ eyes. the priests of Uhmume assist those ghosts, completing business the ghost feels needs to be resolved before it can move on.

Blessings Uhmume does not give out miracles to his followers. In fact, the Lord of Death doesn’t have “followers” as he has priests who serve the needs of the bereaved. Uhmume’s followers assist those who are haunted by departed souls unwilling to move on to their rightful resting place (or unresting place, as it may be). It is also said he

36 37 APPENDIX 2: THE FELL GODS I told you they were back here. Th e Fell Gods can be used with just about any standard fantasy pantheon. Th ey’re nasty, wicked, evil, dirty, cunning, and all together eeeeviiiilll. Use them at your own risk. Note that the Fell Gods are not openly worshiped and most cities consider revering these Gods a crime punishable by death. Th erefore, their temples are hidden away, their cults remain secret, and a Hero who reveres a Fell God takes his own life in his hands.

players beware!!! Th e information that follows is for the Game Master alone! Taking a peek at the Fell Gods will not only ruin the surprise, but will also make them a lot less scary. Th e less you know about the Fell Gods, the more... Oh, what am I doing? You know this routine by now. Don’t be a wanker. Stop reading unless you’re the GM. You’ve been warned.

The God of Murder: Ikhalu At the beginning of time, two Gods petitioned Men for the right to be the God of Death. Uhmume created a vast palace open to any and all while Ikhalu created a fortress so terrifying only the most courageous could climb its walls. Men chose Uhmume’s luxurious palace and Ikhalu has been making Mankind pay for it ever since. Th e assassin-priests of Ikhalu steal the souls of the living, sending them to their dark lord. Priests of Ikhalu are promised that when they die, they will go to their master’s dark fortress where every soul they murdered serves them until the end of time. Th is promise keeps the assassin-priests very busy. Th ey are masters of disguise and strange shadow- powers their dark lord bestows upon them. He also learns a martial art specifi cally designed to immobilize targets, the fundamentals of disguise, stealth and infi ltration. Also, every Ikhalu priest carries a magical dagger; any person killed by this dagger has their soul sent to Ikhalu’s fortress where they serve those who are faithful to the God of Murder.

Blessings Ikhalu assists his followers with powers devious and diabolical. Every assassin-priest is given an unholy dagger that steals souls and sends them to Ikhalu. His shadow-magic helps hide his assassin-priests, giving them the ability to hide in plain sight and disappear into shadows. Ikhalu also intervenes directly on his follower’s behalf, knowing he must protect what little Devotion he has. Th is makes him one of the most active Gods, but it also means his Devotion is always low. He protects those he can… but more oft en than not, he doesn’t have enough Devotion to go Ikhalu’s palace rather than the God of Death. around. Th e knife immediately gains an Advantage Die. Th e knife may have a number of Advantage Dice The Ikhalu Knife equal to the Devotion of the assassin-priest. An Ikhalu knife is a sacred item given to the To commit avali, the assassin-priest must strike most trusted assassin-priests. All of Ikhalu’s his enemy without the enemy knowing he’s Blessings are bestowed through the knife. present. Th e priest slices the throat of the victim or pierces his heart. Th en, the priest utters a The Hidden Blade small prayer to Ikhalu, telling his dark Lord that All Ikhalu knives are bestowed with one a soul is on its way. Blessing: if the priest hides it on his person, it cannot be found. No man, woman, or child can Again: the avali ritual may only be committed fi nd the knife if the priest hides it. if the target has no clue the priest has intention to kill the target. Th e priest could be in disguise The Deepest Cut or hidden. Th en, once the priest is in place, he By invoking this Blessing, the priest gives his rolls his Devotion to the God of Murder. If he opponent a permanent Wound. Th is Wound gains a number of successes equal to or greater cannot be healed by normal means. than the target’s Hubris, the attack is successful; the target is doomed to die in three rounds. False Death One of the greatest secrets of the Ikhalu Allies & Rivals assassin-priests is their ability to feign death. All Gods of the Pantheon are enemies of By invoking this Blessing, the priest tells Ikhalu Ikhalu and would see him murdered with one of “I am not yet ready, Lord,” and appears by all his own daggers. accounts to be dead. His wounds appear fatal to any onlookers. Only if his heart is removed from The Bloody-Eyed Widow: his body is the priest actually killed. He remains Mahl in this false death until midnight. Th en, under the moon, he rises again. She walks the streets when there is no moon, snatching up children who have no home, The Stolen Mask drinking their blood, holding them close to her By invoking this Blessing upon a body he’s bosom as she looks for more. Blood bleeds from murdered, the priest may steal the face of her eyes as she weeps and those who hear her his victim. By stealing the face, he steals the wails are doomed to know her deadly kiss. demeanor of the victim as well. Th e priests Children who fall under her care are clothes appear to be his victim’s clothes, his transformed into awful beasts. Mahl’s Children voice sounds the same, even his possessions are are the monsters of the world: vampires, identical. Th e deception is true until the mask specters, ghouls and the rest. She is the Mother is removed; the face then shrivels and cannot be of All Monsters, claiming those society casts used again. away as her own.

Avali: Holy (or Sacred) Murder Allies & Rivals Whenever an Ikhalu priest commits “holy While all the Gods view Mahl as abhorrent, murder” with his knife, he sends the soul to the Goddess of Hearth and Home is (obvious)

38 39 a particular enemy. She despises Mahl and her children and encourages her followers to destroy Using Monsters them wherever they can be found. Th e reason Monsters are back here in the GM only section should be obvious: so the players don’t Blessings: Monsters know what Monsters can do. However, clever Mahl’s worshipers revere their dark mother players will begin to notice that Monstes with at hidden altars, capturing wayward children similar physical features (scales, claws, etc.) have to drink “mother’s milk.” A priestess is chosen, similar powers. and aft er an exhausting ritual (involving painful Use the Parts to give physical descriptions of ordeals), Mahl possesses the priestess. She then Monsters. Don’t call a Monster by its name; use its bestows her milk on the children (a combination Parts. “It’s big and has seven legs. Its one hundred of blood and breast milk). Slowly, the children eyes look at you with malice and its forked tongue are transformed into the horrors associated with strikes out at you!” Th at way, players will begin Mahl. to learn how Monsters work by recognizing their Th e followers of Mahl don’t have Blessings: physical features. Th ey’ll learn what diff erent beasts they have Monsters. Mahl sends creatures to do, and know the best way to fi ght them. her devoted; horrible creatures from the worst part of the Nightmare Realm. As a GM, you’ll Parts need to build Monsters for your Heroes to A Monster’s Parts each have a special ability fi ght. Monsters are made up of their Parts. For — like a Blessing. A Monster may only use each example, some Monsters have one hundred Part once per game. Some Monsters may have a eyes, claws, a tail, and venomous teeth. Other Part more than once, which means they can use Monsters have wings, scales, and hypnotizing each one once. For example, if a Monster has eyes. Each of these descriptors is a diff erent two Claws, it may use each Claw once per game ability the Monster can use against Heroes. session. If Heroes want to damage specifi c Monster Making Monsters Parts, they may try to do so as a Contested A Monster can have any number of Parts, but Action. If the Hero gains a Complete Success, Mahl typically rewards her followers based on the Part is damaged and the Monster may not their Devotion. A follower of Mahl may have use its advantages. If the Hero gains a Moderate a number of Monsters equal to her Devotion Success, the part may not be used for two rounds to Mahl. Each Monster cannot have more (including the current round). Parts than double their master (or mistress’) Devotion. For example, the Witch-Queen of Camoufl age Falvthrough has a 4 Mahl Devotion. She may Th is Monster gains 3 Advantage Dice when have up to 4 Monsters and those Monsters may trying to hide from opponents. not have more than 8 Parts. All Monsters only have Devotion for Mahl Claws equal to the number of Parts they have. For Th is Part allows a Monster to deliver a Wound example, if a Monster has 4 Parts, it has a 4 on any successful combat roll. Remember, this Part may only be used once per game. Devotion to Mahl. Extra Heads Night Eyes Th is Monster has an additional head. For each Th is Monster may see in the dark. additional head, the Monster gains an additional action per round. It also adds 1 to the number Paralyzing Tongue of successes that must be rolled to defeat the Th e poison of this Monster’s tongue knocks an Monster in combat. For example, if a Monster opponent on the ground. Th e Monster must get has two heads, the TN to defeat the Monster is: a successful Contested Roll (most appropriate: Mahl Devotion + 5 + 1 (additional head). Goddess of Hearth, God of Fortune, God of the Battlefi eld) to use his Tongue. Once struck, the Eyes of Stone Hero gains a Wound and is paralyzed until that Th is part is very deadly and should be reserved Wound is healed. for only the most powerful Monsters. Th is Monster can turn Heroes into stone statues. One Hundred Eyes Th e Hero and Monster make a Contested Roll If a Monster has One Hundred Eyes, it cannot (most appropriate defense: Goddess of the be surprised. It also gains three Advantage Dice Hearth, God of Fortune). If the Monster gets a when trying to fi nd a hidden opponent. Complete Success (not a Moderate Success), the Hero is turned to stone. Th e only way to turn a Rhino Hide Hero back to his usual state is by covering him Th is Monster may, once per game, cancel one with the blood of the Monster who turned him of his opponent’s successful combat rolls. to stone. A Monster has enough blood to turn only one victim back to normal. Scales A Monster with scales cannot be eff ectively Giant Size attacked with sharp weapons. It must be rolled When multiple opponents fi ght this over to expose its soft underbelly. Th is Part Monster, they gain one less Advantage Die for does not need to be activated. To roll a Monster outnumbering the Monster. If the Monster over, you must make a Contested roll (most buys Giant Size more than once, he cancels an appropriate: God of Battle or Fortune) against additional Advantage Die for each time he buys the Monster’s Mahl Devotion. it. Siren Song Hypnotic Eyes Th is Monster may use its voice to lure Heroes Th e Monster may paralyze one opponent for to their doom. Th e voice mesmerizes any Heroes one round. Th e opponent can do nothing but who fail a Contested Roll (most appropriate: gaze at the Monster. Goddess of Hearth, Goddess of Love) against the Monster. Once they are enchanted by the Iron Stomach song, the Hero will do anything to get fi nd the Th is Monster can eat anything: wood, stone, source of the song. Once enchanted, the Hero brick, people. Anything. Th is Part is not is considered helpless for the purposes of the activated, it is “always on.” Monster taking liberties with the Hero’s health and welfare. While this power may only be used Many Legs once per day, it can eff ect a large group of Heroes Th is Monster gains 3 Advantage Dice when — even a whole ship full of them. chasing or running away from Heroes. 40 41 Small Size Venomous Fangs Th is Monster gains 3 Advantage Dice during Th is Monster delivers a poisonous bite when Contested Rolls when trying to avoid being it makes a successful attack roll. Roll a die; if the caught. die roll is odd, the Monster’s venom infl icts the Hero. He loses one Advantage Die at the end of Spiked Tail each round. Th is Monster may grab an opponent, wrapping the Hero up in its tail, squeezing Wings tightly for the chance at additional Wounds. Th e Th is Monster can fl y. Monster and Hero make Contested Rolls (most appropriate: God of War, God of Fortune). If the Monster gains a Moderate Success, the Hero Monsters & The God of Wisdom is caught in the Monster’s Tail and may only Th e God of Wisdom (and his most blessed try to escape. He may make no other actions. followers) has the power to defi ne things, but If the Monster gains a Complete Success, the does this include defi ning what Monstes can Hero takes a Wound for every round he remains do? Well... maybe. trapped. At the end (not beginning) of each Priests of the God of Wisdom may know many round, the Hero may try to escape making things, but the Bloody-Eyed Widow keeps another Contested Roll with the Monster. If the secrets even the Great Wise One doesn’t know. Hero gains a Moderate Success, he escapes. If he Monsters fall under the Domain of Mahl, not makes a Complete Success, he escapes and the Tyane Bran. Th at means, in order to defi ne a Monster takes a Wound. Monster, Tyane Bran must challenge the Queen While the Monster holds a Hero in its Tail, of Beast’s Domain. any other Hero gains an Advantage Die to chop off the tail. A Hero needs a Complete Success to chop off the Tail. If a Hero is attacking the Tail The Grinning man: Afhil while another Hero is held in it, the held Hero Afh il is a tall, spectral fi gure dressed in should gain an Advantage Die when trying to immaculate black robes, his fi ngers are slender escape. and groomed, his hair is black and wet against Spy Eye his skull, his aggressive brow hides his eyes. And Th e Devotee may see what this Monster his grin… any who look upon it risk madness. sees. Th is Part is “always on;” it doesn’t need Under his black robes are barbed whips, to be activated. Whenever the Monster takes a butcher’s knives and other instruments of pain. Wound, the Devotee takes a Wound as well. Afh il’s followers understand their dark lord’s master: pain is the path to strength, the truth Troll Blood only the devoted can follow. Th e boiling, oozing blood of trolls runs in Afh il’s followers hide deep scars under their many Monsters. A Monster with Troll Blood clothes for such scarifi cation is a tell tale sign regenerates all Wounds in one hour and all of Afh il worship. What makes the Grinning severed limbs grow back at midnight. Th e God’s worshipers dangerous isn’t that they seek only way to kill a creature with Troll Blood is wisdom in their own pain, but that they seek to completely destroy it (with fi re or acid, for wisdom in the pain of others as well. Torture is a example). routine occurrence in the hidden shrines to the Wit’s Teeth Grinning God. Th e Grinning Man is the twisted jester, the God of Pain and Malice. He delights in causing Blessings sorrow and misery; he even draws strength from Th e followers of Afh il seem completely it. His followers follow his example, and by using impervious to most injuries. Th is is due to their this Blessing, are capable of bringing even the aggressive torture/training and Afh il’s blessings. greatest warrior to tears. Afh il is also capable of striking down enemies of Th e priest invokes this Blessing and rolls a his followers with incredible wracking pains. number of dice equal to his Pain Devotion. Th e Hero may roll any Devotion he deems fi t. If the The Darkest Fear priest succeeds (even a moderate success), the Followers of Afh il are distorted creatures so target falls into a whimpering, sobbing mess. Th e awful to look upon, only the bravest may do so. target is completely helpless and cannot even When he activates this Blessing, the Follower of defend himself for a number of rounds equal to Afh il causes a Fear Eff ect equal to his Devotion the successes of the priest. to the Pain God. He rolls a number of dice equal to his Devotion and counts his evens. Any If the priest fails, the target’s eyes well up with Hero looking upon him when he activates this tears and anyone taking any action against him Blessing loses a number of dice from their next (physical, social, or mental) gains 2 Advantage action equal to the evens the disciple of the Pain Dice. God rolled. If a Hero cannot muster any dice, he cannot take any action. Da’fhil: Afhil’s Children Woe to those who are captured by the The Malice Hammer followers of Afh il, for they are taught the A devastating curse put upon those who are ultimate lesson in pain. Afh il’s enemies, the Malice Hammer makes Th e body is bound and rituals cast upon it. the target revisit his most tortuous moment. Th e secret name of Afh il is written in spiral Th e priest calls upon the power of this Blessing patters along the skin: written with razors. Th e and looks upon the target. In that moment, he spiral patterns forbid the spirit from leaving the knows the one thing that pains the target most. fl esh. Th e body is wrapped in sacred garments, Whether this is a lost love, an estranged parent, then slowly smothered to death. Th e process a villainous act committed long ago; the priest takes many months. Finally, when the body dies, knows it… and the target knows he knows it. the soul remains within the rune carved skin. Th e creature is called Da’fh il: a Child of Pain. The Sweetest Sting Th e wretched creature suff ers eternal pain so Th is Blessing does not need to be invoked; it is blinding, all it can do is strike out at others. always active. A Da’fh il has only one Devotion and that is to Followers of the Grinning Man suff er for his the Grinning God. Its Devotion is 8 and it has wisdom. Th ey swallow glass, carve their bodies, all the Grinning Man’s Blessings. distort their features, and make themselves cruel mockeries of happiness. Th is makes pain an Allies & Rivals empowering experience, not a debilitating one. It’s no joke that nearly every other God of the For every Wound a follower of Afh il gains, he Pantheon would like to see Afh il suff ering under also gains a Bonus Die. 42 43 the sharp edges of his own tools… if only they Sorcerers may learn any Blessing listed in weren’t so certain he’d enjoy it. this book by summoning demons to their side, binding them, and forcing them to act. Sorcery The Lord of Demons: Sorcel does have a price, however, and that price is Shem blood and time. A binding requires blood. Th at blood may be Wizards in their isolated towers making deals the sorcerer’s blood or another’s, but it must be with demons eventually encounter Sorcel Shem: spilled: enough blood to draw a circle and write the Lord of Demons. It is this dark lord who the demon’s name (about two pints). Any ritual made “selling your soul” popular on Shanri (the takes about one hour to perform. word “sorcerer” comes from his name). Many have sold their souls to Shem for the power he Once a demon has been summoned, it promises; and that power is great, indeed. performs a single action, then leaves. If the sorcerer wishes another Blessing, he must Many speculate that Shem is not actually from summon another demon, going through the this world at all, but from another one where the motions again. rules are not the same. He is oft en depicted as a tall, swarthy, beautiful man with long, straight Th e demon bestows the Blessing on the black hair, braided down the back His eyes are sorcerer who may then call upon its power as like the rainbows of oil mixing with water and he sees fi t. Th e power remains until used, then his voice is pleasant and almost musical. His is gone. A sorcerer may call multiple demons to charms have deluded many ambitious men and gain the same Blessing many times. women, and the gift s he gives them always leave A sorcerer may only have a number of Rituals them wanting more. active equal to twice his Devotion to the God of Sorcery. Blessings Shem does not give miracles to his followers, Allies & Rivals but instead teaches them spells of power. Th ese All the Gods despise Sorcel Shem for he are written in accursed black books, bound provides the quickest route to power — thus in demonic fl esh. Th e spells he teaches are, in stealing potential followers for himself. Even the actuality, the secret names and bindings of other Fell Gods despise him (for the very same demons. By knowing the name of a particular reasons). If Ikhalu could get his knives on Shem, demon, the sorcerer may bind it and put it to he would. service. In this way, a sorcerer is always surrounded by “magic items;” sorcerous tools containing bound demons. Each demon gives the item particular powers: a cloak that protects from fi re, a ruby eye inserted into the skull that sees the intents of those it looks upon, or even a black bladed sword that drinks souls are all good examples of demonic items a sorcerer would have in his forbidden tower. APPENDIX 3: CREATING Y OUR OWN PANTHEON If you want to create your own Pantheon of Gods (You Go Girl!), here are some suggestions on God Titles. Just remember, the Greeks never thought of Athena as “the Goddess of War,” nor did the Norse consider Th or to be “the God of Th under.” Th ey were just Athena and Th or. Gobs and Gobs of Gods Sticking a God a title limits him, but it is a good starting Art Fire/Earth/ Music place to give your God theme and character. Look the over Beauty Wind/Water Night the list to the right and talk about it. Flowers Birds Order Defi ne Your Pantheon Birth (usually Forests Plants Your fi rst step is to defi ne the nature of your Pantheon. Motherhood) (Trees) Poetry Get together with the Game Master and other players, and Guardianship Chaos Politics decide what kind of Pantheon you’ll be playing. It could Hate be a dualistic Pantheon, absorbed in the concepts of Good Courage Profession vs. Evil, Order vs. Chaos. Or, it could be that the nature Craft Healing (Sailors, of your Pantheon is more complicated than that. As an Hearth & Tailors, Dance example, take a look at two Pantheons we all know from Home Blacksmiths, Darkness our Mythology class. Hunting etc.) Dawn Judgment Seas/Waters Two Examples Deserts (or, Justice Sex (not Many interpret the Greek Pantheon as an extension of if you like, Love) desserts) Knowledge the human psyche, a statement on the human condition, Sky but they didn’t start that way. At fi rst, the Gods were Destiny Learning Snakes personifi cations of power: the God of War, God of Destruction Light Making, God of the Waters, all very masculine fi gures. Spring Direction Love (not However, as the Greeks conquered other cultures, (East Wind, Sex) Storms they added the conquered pantheon to their own, re- interpreting it to fi t into their belief structure. At fi rst, West Wind, Luck Sun the Greeks worshiped a Th under God called “Zeus,” but etc.) (Chance, Time when they conquered an agrarian culture, they adopted Disease Fortune) Tricks their Earth Mother, marrying her off (in a subservient Famine Marriage Volcanoes role, of course) to their own Th under God. Th us, Hera and Zeus were wed, and always at odds with each other. Fate Mercy Wa r When the Greeks encountered a people who worshiped Fatherhood Moon Winter a goddess of erotic love, they had her arrive in a shell, off Fertility Motherhood Wisdom the waters to the East. Th us, Aphrodite was added to the (again, pantheon. When the Greeks encountered Athena’s people, Mountains Motherhood) it must have been a struggle (the higher up on the divinity

44 45 chain you are, the tougher you were to conquer your God says a lot about how you’ll be able to — supposedly). She is “born” of Zeus, but not use your Divinity Points. born, bursting from his skull aft er he devoured (conquered) another God, fully dressed in her The Four Elements armor, helm and spear, shouting a wild war Th e four classic Greek elements — Earth, cry that was heard across the universe. She’s a Wind, Fire, and Water — all carry symbolic remarkable fi gure, and one of the most popular meaning. Th e God of Fire carries the Greek Gods… even though she probably came connotation of God of Wisdom. For a primitive from an enemy culture. people, making fi re is a tricky wicket, not Th e Norse Gods are a little diff erent from something just anyone can do. It requires a their Greek counterparts, although very similar specifi c knowledge that must be learned, and in many respects. Th e chief god is male, married sometimes even stolen. Th us, many Gods “steal to a subservient female (although not as fi re” for humanity, bringing it from the other subservient as Hera), and Odin (or, Wotan) is side of the world, to help man conquer his a God of Wisdom rather than a Th under God. fear of darkness, teach him cooking and tool- His son, the mighty THOR (just have to write making as well. Oft en times, the Firebringer is his name in all caps like that, he would have punished for stealing fi re and marked in some demanded it) takes up the role of angry Th under way. In many myths, animals steal fi re for man, God. Th e Norse Gods are less “Gods of…” and and the coloring on their furs or wings shows more like actual characters than their Greek where the fi re burned them as they carried it. counterparts, and far more mortal. Th ey can be In Greek myth, Prometheus steals fi re for man killed, and will be killed in the Final Battle at and gets chained to a rock, his liver eaten away the end of the world. Th is doom casts a shadow by a giant bird for all eternity. In many Native over all the stories, a foreboding aura you cannot American traditions, it is Crow or Raven who ignore. Th e Norse Gods are more human their steal fi re, thus their black “burned” feathers. Greek companions as well, each with his own Odin is considered a God of Wisdom, and is quirks and mannerisms. Th e Greek Gods are wounded for his gaining of that wisdom — he almost infallible, while the Norse Gods are must pluck out his own eye to learn the secrets getting fooled all the time. of the world. Th us, fi re and wisdom are forever So, while both Pantheons have their linked: wisdom burns you and scars you. It steals similarities (God of Th under, God of Wisdom, your innocence, changing you forever. Th at is the God of War), they are also very diff erent. It is nature of fi re: a dangerous tool that must be used important to decide what kind of Pantheon carefully. Th us, if you choose to be a Fire God, you and your other players want to make before think about what sort of God of Wisdom you’ll dishing out titles and responsibilities. Th ink be. about the character of your myths, think about Th ere are many Earth Gods, and they are all the mortality of your Gods, think about all of it. aspects of the same thing: the circular nature Don’t just slap “God of War” on your character of the world. All things come from the Earth, sheet. Th ink about it. Are you like Athena: a walk upon the Earth, and return to the Earth. quick-witted, clever and craft y God of War? Birth, Life, Death are the true holy trinity, and Or are you a bloodthirsty, reckless warmonger every day, mankind goes through that cycle. He like her brother Ares and their distant cousin is innocent, he is experienced, he is stagnant, THOR? Consider carefully. Th e character of and he is born again into innocence. Th e Earth deity is typically female, oft en represented thought (poets are seldom stable creatures), as the Maiden-Mother-Crone. Th e innocent dreams and nightmares. It is the element of girl, full of life and vigor, full of the magic of madness and the secret insight it brings. Water womanhood who gives her life to the baby in is turbulent, mercurial, ever-changing. Water is her womb, changing from dynamic life-force to also the element of purity, the most primal of protector. Th en, fi nally, she is the old woman all the elements. Th e human body needs water whose wisdom cannot be taught, only learned to survive, it is the essential element of life. It with personal experience. Th e girl who was may be volatile, protean and ever changing, but mother who now watches her own girl-child water is the essential stuff of life. Poetry, music, as mother, knowing all the experiences her stories and all come from magical energy of daughter will have. Because the Earth moves water. We cannot live without art, anymore than through its own cycles, represented by the we can live without water. And it can only truly four seasons, the Earth deity also represents be mastered by those who understand it. It can all four of those seasons, including the Season only be captured by those with minds as volatile, of Death: Winter. Th e Earth God is oft en the protean and ever-changing as the element that Death God, far under the ground in his silent guides them. subterranean kingdom, greeting the mortal dead. Wind is the element of thought, the element In primitive cultures, snake is oft en seen as a of concepts. It is too inclusive to say wind is the servant of death: the creature that goes under the element of intellect, for it is also the element of ground, receives messages and commands from intuition. It is the element of things that are true, his master, then returning again to the surface but cannot be seen or explained. It is the element to do his bidding. Almost any creature that of gnosis, of “knowing,” not “understanding.” burrows can be associated with the Earth God. Th e belief that some things cannot be taught in Finally, any creature that “sheds” in the winter books or by teachers, but can only be understood and “blossoms” in the spring is also associated by direct experience. Anyone who’s never been with the magical life cycle. Th ink of antlers that to the Grand Canyon cannot explain the sheer fall off in the winter and re-grow in the spring, awe of standing at the lip of something so bears who sleep the long death-sleep through the enormous, so spectacular. Words fail to capture winter, only to become re-born when the snows the sight of a baby and new-born mother, thaw and you’ll be thinking of “Earth animals.” moments aft er the birth. Men who fl y high Th e Water God is a creature of mystery, above and beyond our own Earth, looking down, emotion and change. “Still waters run deep” is seeing the whole of our blue globe in one glance. the cliché, and in this case, the cliché is true. How can words capture these moments? Th ey Water deities are oft en Goddesses, keepers can’t. Th ey must be experienced. You cannot of secrets, almost associated with the moon learn them, you must know them for yourself. (another symbol of secrets). Th ere are so many Th is is the truth of wind, the element of gnosis, Goddesses associated with water and the the element of magic. So much knowledge is moon, including Arthur’s Lady of the Lake available for the one who is willing to sit, be and the Greek sorceress Circe. Generally, Sun- quiet and listen. Th e wind is calm, it is serene. Worshiping Pantheons vilify Water Goddesses, It carries secrets and is willing to share them to but they are a part of nature, just as fi re and anyone who will listen. Wind is power. It powers earth. Water conceals. Waters are always deeper the windmill, it powers the sail. It carves away than they appear. It is the element of creative the mountain, little by little, year by year. In the

46 47 end, wind is patient, and that is why its energies never fail.

Death Death is an important subject to discuss. Is death simply a mortal concern, or are the gods subject to its whims as well? Is there a God of Death, responsible for claiming souls and returning them to his dim kingdom? If so, Death Gods are oft en isolated in some way, set apart from the other Gods. Either the Pantheon shuns him or he just keeps his distance, uninterested in the aff airs of Gods or men, his mind set on keen indiff erence. Is Death even personifi ed at all? In the Hebrew tradition, there may be One God, but there is no Heaven or Hell. In fact, there really isn’t a soul! (Th ere’s a lot of diff erent kind of Jews; your faith mileage may diff er.) Carefully consider the role of Death in your Pantheon and place him well. We strongly discourage the God of Death be handled by one of the players; generally, it’s just too much responsibility for a God to handle, let alone a mortal.

Lastly When making your own Pantheon, keep in mind all the stuff that makes mythology neat. Th e ambiguous, fast-and-lose rules; the melodrama; the tricks; the Doom Waiting at the End of the World. Make it all part of your own Pantheon. If you don’t feel comfortable making up your own, grab an existing one and play with that. Th ere’s nothing wrong with using Enemy Gods to play with the Norse or Greek Pantheon, or even the Egyptian or Roman Pantheons. In the end, the point is to have fun, so do just that. APPENDIX 4: D20 CONVERSION NOTES You can convert the mechanics in this book to be used in other games. For example, here’s a way to use Devotions, Miracles and Curses in the d20 system. In essence, the core system fi ts right on top of the d20 system. Divinity Points work the same way, giving bonuses to rolls works the same way, etc. But to make it fi t, we need to alter just a couple of things.

Clerics, Druids, Paladins and other Holy Folks Obviously, some character classes will have more devotion than others. Holy (or unholy) characters get bonuses and penalties in this system, making them exceptions to just about every rule. I’ll point this out when it’s important or when the rules change for those characters. Th e most important thing to remember is that the gods expect more out of holy characters. Th ey will get benefi ts above others, but the penalties for falling from favor will also be greater.

Devotions Let’s start with Devotions. Th e rules are, essentially, the same. Each character gets points to devote to the gods. Th e number of points depends on the number of gods and how much infl uence you want the gods to have on your campaign. (I’m assuming you want gods interfering in the lives of mortals because you picked up this book.) Th e more points you give your players, the more power the gods have. Aft er all, a god’s power is completely dependant on the devotion that god gets. I suggest giving the players seven points to devote to the gods. Most d20 settings have a ton of gods and that lets them spread the points out. Don’t let anyone put more than three points in a single devotion, however. Fewer points lessen the gods infl uence; more points make the gods more prominent. Holy characters may begin the game with a rank higher than three in their chosen god. Th ey may also, depending on the god and the DM, have a rank or two in another god. Most deities would take off ense to such a choice, but others may not mind so much.

Divinity Points Th e DM can keep track of the gods’ Divinity, but I fi nd that most d20 games focus more on the heroes than the gods. Th e gods are far more powerful than they are in the world of Enemy Gods, but if the DM wants, he can maintain a running record of Divinity uses. He can even assign the roles of the gods to the players, as in the standard game.

48 49 All Divinity costs are the same. Giving special quest or just show the proper amount bonuses to rolls, granted blessings and curses, of obeisance to the god. You never can tell with etc. those pesky deities.

Roll Bonuses Conclusion Whenever you roll dice for an act that either Th at’s about it: everything you need to play supports your god’s purposes, you get a divine your fi rst game of Enemy Gods. If you have any bonus equal to the Devotion you have to that questions or run into any problems, feel free to god. If your Devotion is 3, you get +3 to your drop me a line at www.johnwickpresents.com. roll. If your Devotion is 2, you get +2 to that I’ll be happy to answer any questions, clarify roll. rules, or just take shameless compliments. If you are using the rules that put the players But remember this: a roleplaying game is a in the roles of the gods, you may petition that game of imagination and make-believe. It is one god for the bonus. He may or may not give you of the only types of games in the world where a bonus up to your Devotion. He may not give the players are encouraged to make up things you more, but he may give you less. as they go. Th is not only includes the world but the rules as well. No RPG can suit every group’s Domain Spells needs. I encourage you to change rules, make Th ose who are devoted to the gods may also up your own, and modify this game to suit your gain spells from the god’s domains. You get a group’s tastes. Believe it or not, I love hearing number of spells equal to your Devotion to that how players change my games — hearing about god. Yes, this includes character classes who may house rules shows that gamers are still thinking not normally cast spells. people who don’t just follow rules, but make up Holy characters get bonus spells equal to their their own. So, if you do come up with your own Devotion. Th at is, they get their usual spells set of house rules, be sure to drop by and let me from their god plus a number of additional spells know what you came up with. equal to their Devotion. Finally, thanks for picking up Enemy Gods. I hope you enjoyed the read, but more Blessings & Curses importantly, I hope you enjoy playing it. Th e gods may give characters blessings and Take care, curses as they do in the standard rules. I suggest using the standard bless/curse spells found John W in Core Rulebook I (bless, harm, heal, cure light wounds, etc.). Th e level of the spell is the amount of Divinity required to cast a Blessing or a Curse. Blessings last a number of rounds, hours or days (however you like) equal to the hero’s Devotion to the god. However, Curses don’t fade away in a number of rounds. Instead, the eff ect lasts until the hero satisfi es the god’s wrath. He could be commanded to perform a -6-5A/7,;

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What social caste does your Hero come from?

Which of the five senses is most important to your Hero?

How does your Hero feel about her parents? Her family in general? Does she The Call to Adventure have any siblings? Did she lose any siblings or family members before now?

What are your Hero’s favorite foods? Drinks?

What does he like to wear?

The Wastelands & Transformation Does your Hero hold any grudges or vendettas? Does he owe any favors or boons? Does he have any obligations at all?

What kind of person is your Hero most attracted to?

What kind of person drives you to fits of rage?

The Underworld & The Beast How does your Hero define “love?”

If given the opportunity, would your Hero kill for profit? If not, what would your Hero kill for?

What is more important, to be feared or to be loved? (“Yes,” is not an acceptable answer.)

Rank the Seven Deadly Sins in order from deadliest (1) to most benign (7) Who does your Hero trust most? Why does she trust this person above all others? Lust Jealousy Anger Gluttony Greed Sloth Pride Which God does your Hero revere most and why? Which God does he revere least?

Rank the Seven Beatific Virtues from most noble (1) to least noble (7) To whom does your Hero owe the most loyalty? Prudence Faith Fortitude Charity Temperance Hope Justice If you could give one piece of advice to your Hero, what would it be?

What are some of your Hero’s reoccurring mannerisms? What would be the most appropriate death for your Hero? Figures of speech, physical habits, etc.?

What quality about his personality does your Hero like most?

How would your Hero’s parents describe him? What quality about his personality does your Hero like least?