Demigods as player characters [or: It's All Greek to Me]

[S'mon]

Hi JPL!
Whether you are working with British Intelligence in a Cyberpunk 2020 setting to find the Sword of Kas; refighting the 2nd World War in an alternate Earth where the rennaissance and industrial revolution never happened; pretending to be a goddess (rather than a god) to gain a foothold in a matriarchy; warring with the Melnibonean Sword Gods; working with alien bounty hunters; time travelling to save your ancestors; starting a civil war in the Nine Hells or any of many, many other things we have accomplished along the way. I think the one thing that made it especially 'epic' was that there were no constraits - only consequences.

You make it sound like a good campaign.

 

[S'mon]

You make it sound like a good campaign.

One thing about playing a deity on a low-magic 21st century Earth using autofire rules from Twilight:2000, you gain a healthy respect for the H&K CAWS assault shotgun...

I think the campaign's sf elements definitely benefitted from a realistic approach to modern and futuristic weapons, using GDW's T:2000, Traveller TNE et al for reference. Once you accept that damage is proportional to kinetic energy, anti-tank weapons become a serious threat even to 399-hp deities. Not that 399hp is anything to write home about in 3e anyway...

 

[Upper_Krust]

Hi Simon!

You make it sound like a good campaign.

I certainly enjoyed it!

One thing about playing a deity on a low-magic 21st century Earth using autofire rules from Twilight:2000, you gain a healthy respect for the H&K CAWS assault shotgun...

Yes the shotguns in both Call of Cthulhu d20 and d20 Modern do seem somewhat watered down (10 gauge 3d8* Dmg point blank ) from our campaign; which is incongruous given that in 3rd Ed. hit points have generally escalated; especially at high-levels...not to mention Damage Reduction.

*and the Barrett is even less

Clearly the modern weaponry rules need sorting out for Immortal campaigns.

I think the campaign's sf elements definitely benefitted from a realistic approach to modern and futuristic weapons, using GDW's T:2000, Traveller TNE et al for reference. Once you accept that damage is proportional to kinetic energy, anti-tank weapons become a serious threat even to 399-hp deities. Not that 399hp is anything to write home about in 3e anyway...

Yes I was somewhat afraid of technology in our campaign after a baptism of fire - which didn't sit too well with my 'God of Bravery' persona.

 

[Djeta Thernadier]

Y'know, the Greeks were the original powergamers.

We get on a player's case if he wants to play a troll or a half-ogre or a drow. The Greeks skipped all that and went straight to "I'm playing the son of Zeus, King of the Gods."

But imagine a D&D setting where the gods were constantly getting involved and making trouble and falling in love with mortals. The heroes would be far mightier than ordinary men, but still just dust beneath the feet of the gods.

I dunno...maybe this would be a high-level campaign which eventually became epic-level. Very low-tech, with magic very rare and often very powerful. A young world, with all the rough edges still in place, and humanity just starting to assert itself.

Sounds very interesting. Would you have the gods interact with NPC mortals? I see a lot of role-playing possibilities with this.

 

[JPL]

Sounds very interesting. Would you have the gods interact with NPC mortals?

If gods didn't "interact" with the mortals, we'd never have demigods.

I like the idea that only the demigods are likely to encounter the gods in their "true form" --- anyone else whould be blown away by the splendor.

And even their humanlike forms are just one aspect of the gods --- when the thunder crashes or the earth shakes or the moon lights your way...that's the gods, too.

 

[Desdichado]

Seems like the bloodlines from Midnight very accurately portray this idea already from a mechanical point of view. It'd make the characters unbalanced, though, unless everyone had access to it.

 

[JPL]

Seems like the bloodlines from Midnight very accurately portray this idea already from a mechanical point of view. It'd make the characters unbalanced, though, unless everyone had access to it.

Hmm. What's the ECL of a demigod, anyway? To be true to the genre, you almost have to just shrug and say, yes, Hercules is better than you. Probably more fun, though, to assume that there are occasional mortals like Odysseus [or Xena] who can hang with the big boys.

Is there some sort of mechanic in Deities for stealing the essence of another divine being when you slay them? You could throw in a little "Highlander"...maybe some demigods are trying to climb the ranks into true godhood?

Not familiar with Midnight...I'm thinking each divine bloodline could have a list of bonus feats associated with it, drawn from a variety of sources including Deities and Epic. The sons of Zeus have different abilities than the sons of Apollo.

 

[Desdichado]

No, the Bloodlines from Midnight give you a special ability at each level, reflecting your less than mundane heritage in some way. Each is flavorful -- feyblooded is very different than ironblooded, for example, and with a little renaming, could easily be adapted into "divine blooded god (x)".

 

[blackshirt5]

Hmm. What's the ECL of a demigod, anyway? To be true to the genre, you almost have to just shrug and say, yes, Hercules is better than you. Probably more fun, though, to assume that there are occasional mortals like Odysseus [or Xena] who can hang with the big boys.

Is there some sort of mechanic in Deities for stealing the essence of another divine being when you slay them? You could throw in a little "Highlander"...maybe some demigods are trying to climb the ranks into true godhood?

Not familiar with Midnight...I'm thinking each divine bloodline could have a list of bonus feats associated with it, drawn from a variety of sources including Deities and Epic. The sons of Zeus have different abilities than the sons of Apollo.

I have to say that the idea of a Highlander-esque game, where political machinations go hand in hand with duels and head-taking would be so cool I'd almost be unable to withstand it.

*Blackshirt begins planning his next campaign and working out a really big pantheon*

 

[JPL]

I have to say that the idea of a Highlander-esque game, where political machinations go hand in hand with duels and head-taking would be so cool I'd almost be unable to withstand it.

*Blackshirt begins planning his next campaign and working out a really big pantheon*

I have a few ideas for the pantheon...

1. Use the Greeks, plus the Egyptians and the Sumerians and so forth [many of whom may be aspects of the same being]. Plenty of resources, all the hard work is done, and the Bronze Age flavor is built right in.

2. This would make a really funky alternate Forgotten Realms. That's a fine pantheon they've developed.

3. Use the Hermetic archons from GURPS Cabal. Someday I'm doing SOMETHING with those guys. And there are 36 of them, which means plenty of relationships to explore. But no appropriate period flavor...I might have to wait and use that for a mystical Elizabethan swashbucler...

4. Bust out the Joseph Campbell and come up with a new pantheon that covers all the major archetypes. All-Father, Earth-Mother, God of the Dead...