So I want to run a game based on classical epics with the gods intervening with the party, helping them and fucking them up. How do I do this without being too jarring, invoking gm powers and so on?
I want to have a whole subplot about a bunch of gods betting on the PCs. How do I showcase these segments without taking players out of the game and saying "so this is what's happening in godland atm"
I was thinking of keeping the god's presence ambiguous at first and then slowly integrating them into the campaign. If a PC is playing a pally/cleric they could be a conduit in which the gods speak to the party.
>>46728558
Depends on how you want to do it. Is the party like demi-gods that wrestle with zeus or something?
Or is it closer to the odyssey?
In general though I would suggest not showing what the gods are up to and just having them intervene. Let the PCs figure out what is going om themselves.
Which system? I play Torchbearer and think this could work well with the "Twist" rule and the town/camp random events, especially since the gods are more anonymous and generic than, say, in your regular d&d setting.
>>46728711
>>46728654
Yeah going for an odyssey type thing. I'll probably just do it in DnD since I never pay attention to fluff anyway and just make up my own lore.
Whatever the cleric's god is will be refluffed into some generic god that fits the setting.
>>46728558
Play Exalted. The new edition should finally be coming out this week!
>>46728558
Is there a chance to converse with oracles or clerics of different gods?
Maybe they could give some exposition?
>>46728888
That's a good idea.
>>46728558
Use AGON mate, it is geared specifically for this sort of game. And IIRC, the rules aren't all that heavy either. I played it at a con a few years ago and it was pretty great, despite not really being something I'd normally go in for.
>>46728558
Play FATAL. It's a sophisticated and complex game with pseudo classical themes and very mature handling of everything. Its deep class immersion for Priests would help you immensely.
>>46729025
Checking out the sample sourcebook now, sounds pretty dope
We're playing a game of demigod or equivalents, and some of the characters are directly or indirectly connected to gods in some cases.
With the situation of some of the gods having an interest in them or even playing a game with them, occasionally said god or godlike force may appear to the character with some interaction in mind.
Like in the case of a game, they'd show up and be like "Hey, listen, I've got a good amount wagered on your success, so don't fuck this up. By the way here's a little advice, a present, or some motivation." So we have a general ongoing idea of what some of the gods are up to or have done, without a portion of the game devoted to showing them OOC. Sometimes though if we want to we can do some backstory or lore about them, and the DM will let us share or go into it, kind of like telling some of your own characters backstory.
Obviously since it's inspired by ancient Greece it's going to need to be very diverse, like Theros
Why not Scion?
Here's how I would run it - make up your pantheon and decide which of the gods in it are on the side of your party, and which are antagonistic to them, and keep some neutral who might change side as the game progresses.
Then, at appropriate dramatic interludes, roll to see if any of the gods interfere. You will want to keep track of which gods interfere and how directly - to stop it getting one sided, modifiers based on these apply to each "interference roll" - the more blatantly one side gets involved, the more likely the other side is to retaliate in kind
Further modifiers could come via the players' actions. in mythology, gods love testing how virtuous mortals are, often appearing as old men and women to see how the hero treats them -those who behave righteously are more likely to get rewarded by the gods. Those who offend the gods risk their displeasure. Think how Zeus gave Poseidon permission to dick with Odysseus after what he did to Polyphemus.
Try and keep the players unaware of the machinations of the various gods too. Unless they visit an oracle, who'll tell them that god x is angry with them, or that goddess y has offered them a boon, (which can be a good springboard for a quest - if they've inadvertently angered one of the gods on their side, the oracle can give them a quest to appease the god (sometimes but not all, this quest should change other gods opinions of the character too)
>>46732327
Because it's one of the most hands-down broken systems ever invented. However, you might be able to addapt Legends of The Wulin to the Scion setting by reworking internal styles to purviews, external styles to epic archetypes (reminiscent of common combinations of epic attributes) and replace the existing loresheets with pantheon specific loresheets.
