Overview

I am still up for it

Sorry, I didn't think my stopping would derail things to this extent. Should I archive the game or do you all still want it left open?

Sorry. Great ideas so far! I do feel some structure could help.. like turns or what not. About number of gods- maybe number of *main* gods- the same as out group and dozens of minor ones, so we can always add stuff if we want. The same way... You dont really has to know a finite number of how many planets exist in the Star Wars universe.

I feel like DOW works better for the world we are trying to build,and I can be the GM if nobody else steps up.

Right. Um... Not it? What about you So, if we sort that issue out... Are we Freeform, Dawn of Worlds, Microscope? Yxan seems to prefer Microscope, I suggested DOW Are we vibing as Primeval suggests? Can we all reach consensus on these two things and move ahead?

Sorry. I do think what you all are working on is really cool. I've just been a bit mentally overwhelmed with real life lately so I don't think I can contribute much. I am happy to make one or all of you co-GMs.

Die is such a big word What happened is the GM saw that the game was going in a direction he couldn't go with and had to step down Guess one of us have to be the new GM

Soooo... what is happening? Did the game just die?

Sad to see you go,If you do make a Microscope game I will be more than happy to join you.

Definitively not opposed to that, as long as it is an easy system and easily acquired. I am only mentioning Microscope, because I know how to use it.

I would still prefer Microscope, but when I prompted a simple single sentence pitch (the first step), it kept driving into a lot of deep world-building and stuff. So it felt like it was not really going to work for this group which is ok. I'm kind of thinking I might start a different game for those who want to play Microscope specifically. Edit: Maybe that's a better idea, to break off. You three seem to be vibing pretty well and have a cool idea. I'm interested to see where it goes, but I feel a little lost on contributing. And the more I thought about microscope the more excited I was about that. So I might turn the game over to you three.

A structure would be good,but we could try out a different system as well,not just Microscope

So we are ditching Microscope? I kind of like it and I would definitely prefer if we don't do that, because it gives a structure (and I prefer that way) and the same opportunity for everyone to contribute and create. First we decide a setting. Generic is the best option to leave room for building later. Second round we choose things that we want to be part of the world. These things must be used somewhere. Third we choose things to ban. Things that cannot be used anywhere. Then we start building with one player at each time choosing the round focus.

I hope it didn't feel like I was attacking any ideas that had been brought up. I just think that for this to really be a group game that involves everyone, we should slow down a little bit and agree on a simple premise, not ask all these different questions at once right now. Then from there, we can tackle those questions in a more organized way.

There was one time I played a similar game to this on Rolegate,the GM made a homebrew system that went like this: Each player made a god Each god had a number of "spheres" (Domains) that they could increase as they became stronger You start with a number of "Synergy" (I think this was the name) and if you could grow your influence on the world you get stronger,otherwise you might get weaker and return back to the void where other gods could kill you and consume your energy. We could Also look into more Rpgs that focus on worldbuilding

There was a war among the gods, rendering them all inert in some way (there is debate about which gods did what, who said what, whether they are dead or sleeping). When you say 'debate' I am imagining wars. The races hating each other for what this races god did. Imagine that the gods are present... and then one day there is a war among the gods that literally changes the world overnight. The bodies of all the gods joined together in the sky overhead. This is likely to create a lot of theories among the survivors. If only the gods know the truth about which God did what, that means the races created by those gods would be working under hearsay and racial memory/deep history. Lot's of potential for conflict. The featured species of the setting exists on/in the body of one or more of the gods. You say the featured species. I imagine more than 1.... or maybe just 1 that gets changed by their environment. Can we change this to on (live on the outer surface), in (Literally inside the body of a god), under (In the space between the original world and the bodies of the gods wrapped around it). They in some way draw power from the remaining energy of the body of the god (there is some debate about the nature of this). This to my brain is about magic and how it works. (which is why I separated your dot point into two parts). I do feel that we need to lock down how magic works, if we are going to have magic. Magic has the potential to be overpowered so easily. I presented my idea, which was the magic rings from the deceiving god. If there is power remaining in the bodies of the gods that form the world's surface... and the races can access this power somehow.... What is the somehow? Do we have different types or schools of magic? How about this... Ring Mage. Gains their powers from the rings. The rings idea gives a loose power level framework, 1 ring to 10 rings (or some kind of maximum). Devourer Mage. Gains their powers from consumption of the body parts of the god. (Psionics?) (Some kind of limit in the form of toxicity or mutation?) Apparatus Mage. Gains their powers from the use of the body parts of the god. The parts are magical components for spells. (need the parts for the magic to work) ,- Making magical objects as well as spells? Perhaps these differences in magic schools are about where you were born? Ring Mages live on the surface. Devourers live inside the bodies of the gods. Apparatus (I think we need a better name) live in the between. Just a thought. The world outside of the bodies may be dangerous, or at least the rats may believe that to be the case. This makes sense to me because I'm thinking that there are major conflicts because of beliefs. I think this is especially true if the environment (god body) influences the "rats" and changes them in some way. If we have on - in - under, I feel like the On's are the rats who live in the utopian/idyllic environment. In's would also have a somewhat idyllic environment (compounded by xenophobia and an environment with non-sustainable reducing resources) and Under's would be the toughest environment. More ideas/questions for consideration: How many gods make up the surface of this world? - (Because that might determine how many races we have) How long since the Godswar? I'm thinking it has been a very long time, ie several thousand years. Power Vacuum? When the Gods went away who/what stepped into the power vacuum? The priesthood is an obvious choice to step into the vacuum. Magic users is another, and Conquering Monarchy structure is the third. (religion, science, state) If the bodies of the gods have remaining power inside them... does that mean that we have magical or fantastical creatures? Some animals may have fed on the bodies of the gods and been changed by it. Inciting incidents - What changes the status quo. Help me brainstorm on this. The Rat King/Queen (the Deceiving God) wakes up and must collect their power. The XX's (living in the body of XX God) have run out of resources and must migrate (up, down, sideways) The Unders have found a passageway to travel to the In and On.

I have enjoyed the story a lot! Also, it focus down from our macro discussion to the actual people who inhabit this world. Primeval Stassis- This is the way I have understood it as well

I agree with this a lot. When things are ambiguous, it leaves more room for different belief systems that will inevitably spur conflict. I keep bouncing off trying to fully understand everything, so I'm going to try to type a stripped back summary for me (and maybe Yxanthymir, since he just joined) to get up to speed and all on the same page. While freeform is good, I think maybe bringing a little more order might be good. The baseline: There was a war among the gods, rendering them all inert in some way (there is debate about which gods did what, who said what, whether they are dead or sleeping). The featured species of the setting exists on/in the body of one or more of the gods. They in some way draw power from the remaining energy of the body of the god (there is some debate about the nature of this). The world outside of the bodies may be dangerous, or at least the rats may believe that to be the case. Do that sound about right? Maybe we can build out from that (with whatever alterations are needed) in an organized way.

Sorry I was not following lately, but I'm still in.

Spoiler box bottom left. If you hover over it will say.

Well holy shit, we barely came up with a concept and we already have an ENTIRE STORY, an amazing one! I really, Really enjoyed this so much. Btw,how do you do the box thing?

Here's what my brain came up with with what we have so far..... Brain fart "I heard you have an entertaining story that you are willing to share for a few jacks of ale." The elderling nodded towards his lamentably empty cup before raising his eyes to the speaker. He stiffened as three words occurred to him. Rich, which he could tell from the cut of the spider silk jacket of the speaker. Noble, because of the tiny red beetle motif that decorated his cheek, indicating that were anyone to kill this noble, an automatic contract from the beetle clan would be triggered. Arrogant, from the twist of his lips and laughter in his eyes. Those three things were a bad combination for a commoner such as himself. He cleared his throat and gestured towards the chair opposite him in this small and run-down caravanserai, "Yes M'lord. My fate is to share my story with all who would listen. The ale just helps to wet my throat." With a moue of distaste the youngling noble looked at the chair before pulling out a small cloth from a pocket and covering the chair before sitting. "This had better be a very entertaining story." he said, before raising a hand to garner the attention of the server. The elderling looked out the window towards the sea, the slight shimmer of bioluminescence marking where the land ended and the water began and then he sighed. "It is not a story M'lord, it is the truth, yet despite this, no one believes me. It is hard to know such a truth and not be believed. I do not know why I was chosen to find this truth. As you can see I am old and near the end of my life. This truth serves me not. I feel it is my fate to share my truth until someone believes me. Perhaps that will be you M'lord." The server arrived at the table and the youngling noble bickered with the server until a dusty bottle from behind the bar arrived at the table with some small glasses. The orrack was poured and the youngling focused back onto him. "Begin. I will decide if it is the truth or a just a tale to garner alcohol for a drunkard." He nodded and cleared his throat again, "All my life I worked on the seven hundred league sea as a bargeman. I transported goods from here to all the cities that circle the sea for a great many years. I have seen much of the firmament, but the sea is where I felt happiest. Unlike these cities, on the water you can see clearly. Everything glows, from the smallest creature to the largest. This glow is enough to see without torches or lanterns. From above you can sometimes see the great hunting wyrms on the encapsulment, but only when the clouds are thin." The elderling took a sip of the orrack feeling it pleasantly burn the back of his throat on its way down. "Much of the light in the sea comes from chicles. Tiny creatures, no bigger than a grain of sand. Once is a great while, at the same time, the chicles spawn, all across the sea and the light they produce when spawning is intense." "Yes yes, I've seen that from the balcony of the palace." The elderling nodded, "The last time it happened, I was halfway through a passage from here to Dimhaven. I was near the center of the seven hundred league sea. When the chicles started spawning, I left the wheel and lay on the deck of my barge and admired the show of light on the thin clouds above me. The Great wyrms glow brighter in response, as if the sea is challenging their strength, counterpoints of color in the encapsulment above and the play of light is mesmerizing. The clouds were very thin, as thin as I have ever seen them. As the barge drifted, I slept and when I opened my eyes suddenly I could not see any Wyrms above me. There was no light from above, as if the great wyrms avoided this one place for a league. Yet, because of the spawning, and the lack of cloud I could clearly see the encapsulment. Above me I saw what at first I thought was a great forest of stalactites like you sometimes see in caves on the firmament, but enormous. Hanging above me like great teeth. And then..." The Elderling drifted into silence his eyes on the glass in front of him. "And then? You cannot stop there. What happened? What did you see?" The Elderling looked across to the youngling noble, his eyes wide, "I saw the face of a god. What I thought were stalactites was his hair, hanging down towards the sea. His head was a league across. As the barge drifted right under his head I saw the light reflected in his eyes as if he looked directly at me and I felt something I could not explain. A sense of betrayal and a vast immeasurable anger that would consume the world." "Pftt. really? You claim to have seen the face of Incarus? As if you were a saint? I find that hard to believe, and besides Incarus protects us all." The elderling scratched at one of his facial spikes, "I never said it was Incarus. The face had no spikes, his mouth had fleshy lips. He did not look like us. Whatever kind of God he was, his body was the encapsulment, over the entire sea. Even now he sleeps above us, for his body would stretch across this city." The youngling noble laughed and glanced upwards as if he could see through the roof of the caravanserai to the encapsulment above, "Ridiculous... There are no gods but Incarus, yet, you earned your drink Elderling. A very entertaining tale, but dangerous should the priesthood ever hear it." The Elderling nodded. Another who did not believe him. "As I said m'lord, my fate is to tell those who will listen, until someone believes me. If the church chooses to take my life to silence my voice, that is their decision. I only speak the truth."

You three are all good! I like the enthusiasm, and the ideas flowing around are really cool. I have some thoughts, but it's almost 2am here, so they aren't coherent. I'll post sometime tomorrow.

I really like what we have come to so far,My apologizes if i got too excited.