Gods' Wars

You are a demigod, a child of one of the Olympian Gods, invited to London to compete in the Gods’ Wars. With what you assume is a little bit of divine intervention, your dream job and lodgings are conveniently available there for you to easily relocate and participate.

The Gods’ Wars - a competition among demigods in which the winners become Gods themselves- have been run countless times across countless worlds, with countless themes. Demigods have intervened to rig elections, intercede in succession crises, start wars, and more! This time, the Olympians of the Greek pantheon are hosting it and the theme is love.

Gods’ Wars: London 1880
PBEM Megagame
Player Handbook

Pieces stolen from Afterlife and Dusk City with permission[1]Feel free to use bits of previous PbEm rulebooks- though be sure you do get the original authors' permission!

What are the Gods’ Wars?[2]This is the short summary I used for advertising the game. I put it here as well to start with a brief summary of what this game is all about. Some people don't read the rulebook and, even for those who do, it is a LOT of info! So good to start out with something like this.

Not every demigod can ascend to Godhood. Most of you never will. But Gods’ Wars will give you a chance to gain power and favor from these incredible beings. Do well enough in the competition, and you can, yourself, Ascend to join them in Godhood! The Gods’ Wars have been run countless times across countless worlds, with countless themes. Demigods have intervened to rig elections, intercede in succession crises, start wars, and more! This time, the theme is love.

Love is in the air as the Season begins in (near) London 1880! Lilian Thompson and Victor Moore are the most eligible debutantes, the so-called "catches" of the season. Attend balls and other social events, romance and befriend other mortals and demigods alike, while you increase devotion to and complete Quests for the Gods.

In order to Ascend, demigod participants must score among the top six in the competition. Points are given out by Gods in their chosen Aspects. The Aspects include Bonding, Justice, Arts, Sporting, Scholarship, Pugilism, Fabrication, Balance, Trickery, and Hedonism.

Will you win the honor and privilege of ascending to Godhood or will you pursue love, wherever it may lead? Find out in this year’s Gods’ Wars!

The Victorian London of Gods’ Wars

Gods’ Wars is inspired by, and shares a lot in common with, Victorian London, but is not a historical game. Our world is an alternative history world in which some major changes in the historical timeline have resulted in a society similar to but different from the one we know as Victorian England. In the Gods’ Wars version of 1880 England, women and people of all cultures have equal rights to white men. Non-heterosexual sexual orientations, the full gender spectrum, and non-monogamous relationships are also an accepted part of society. Modern western colonialism and slavery never really took off.[3]I'll be honest, I was a bit lazy with the setting for this game, in that I wanted to use Victorian London BUT I obviously wanted the game to be inclusive. I was uninterested in telling the stories of only rich white heterosexual men during this time. I wanted to have a world where anyone was free to be whatever and whoever they wanted.Thus, racism, sexism, and homophobia are not themes that are going to be addressed or are welcome in this game. We have made these changes purposefully so that players of all races, genders, sexualities, etc. can enjoy this romantic era without the feeling that they could not have truly belonged in such a society. In this one, they can. We have altered history so that our non-cis/white/heterosexual players can create and tell their own stories in this world. The decision to exclude these themes was one made not to belittle the struggles made for equality nor to diminish the stories that could be told with these themes in such a setting.[4]I could have written alternate history that explained specifically how other nations flourished, how homophobia did not come about, etc. But I didn't think it would come up that much in the game and that's not what this game was really about.

Nevertheless, it is one thing I do regret, because I don't want to feel like these stories were not important or valued or that the struggles and atrocities that were committed during these times should just be handwaved. I don't think it felt that way, but nevertheless, I want to point that out here because it's something that I spent a lot of time thinking about.These struggles and these stories are incredibly important, but they are not the ones that we are telling in this world or in this game.

But if all are equal, where will the scandal and drama come from? Rest assured. Victorian London in Gods’ Wars is not a utopia. There are still many inequalities in our London that were present in the real 1880 and that are fodder for the Society Papers. Those inequalities revolve around class dynamics and the drastic difference in wealth distribution among the landed nobility and the working classes. Sexual scandal still exists as well. Having a child out of wedlock is still wholly inappropriate and shows a lack of moral character especially if one does not support said child. Marriage (with two or more people) is still very much a business contract designed to improve family prospects rather than the more romantic but scandalous ideas of marrying for love. Not following any number of rules of etiquette (see below) can also lead to your name being associated with scandal.[5]I was hoping this would be a bigger theme in the game, but it really never was. I think that partly this is because there really was no mechanic behind it. Sometimes the newspaper would print articles to this effect, but there was no mechanical weight or punishment.

We welcome all genders, sexualities, and races in the London of Gods' Wars. We encourage you to play whatever character you feel most comfortable with or would like to explore. Sexism, racism, or sexuality-based discrimination are not a part of this society and will not be tolerated in or out of game.

Safeguarding

While the Control team cannot preemptively control the content of what players send in messages to each other, or describe in action resolution, for the enjoyment of all involved we are requesting that players do not engage with the following:

• Erotic content:We realize that a large part of this game is the dating sim, but we are requesting that players do not engage in any overt erotic roleplay or content in the body of their emails or actions with other player characters (PCs) or non-player characters (NPCs).
• Sexual violence or assault or Incest:A firm no that the Control team stands behind. We ask that this not be included not only in your emails and actions, but also in terms of backstory elements. We recognize the large role this plays in many mythologies, but we will not abide by their inclusion in Gods’ Wars.
• Racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia:These were absolutely issues in actual Victorian London, but we are not engaging with them in Gods’ Wars. Please see The Victorian London of Gods’ Wars for more information. Players should come into this game with open minds and attitudes, and any attempt made at pushing discrimination in or out of character will be punished.

Control will also observe these same limits when replying to players as NPCs, or when doing action resolutions.[6]This is an INCREDIBLY important section. In fact, it's so important that OMEGA has drafted some language that you can use for your own rulebook.

You may have specific content to add on for your own game based on the themes, and that is absolutely fine. The OMEGA language isn't a necessity to use verbatim, but it is required that you take care with safety and have some language around it.

How do I Play?[7]This section is one that I essentially copied and pasted from earlier rulebooks and then modified where my rules and examples differed. Depending on how your game works, I imagine the same can be done here.

This section is going to be less important for veteran players to read, but very important for those new to PbEms to have a sense of what they are like!

Gods’ Wars is a play-by-email Megagame played over about 8 Turns. Each Turn will last a week in real time. During a Turn, you may input two Actions, which will be resolved by Control at the end of the Turn. During the Turn you may communicate in-character, by email, with other Player Characters (PCs) and Non-Player Characters (NPCs), including Gods and mortals, portrayed by members of the Control team, in order to gain information, coordinate Actions, spread disinformation, and the like. Though communication with NPCs is a core part of the game mechanics, if you want to influence the world beyond talking to someone, you need to use an Action.

It is strongly recommended that you create a separate email account for this game, to keep game emails separate for your personal emails[8]Seriously, if you haven't done this as control, I pity your inbox.

Each Turn ends at the end of the week: 12am Saturday BST/7 pm Friday EDT.[9]This changes within a few hours with every game, really. Choose what works best for you and your team.After that time, Control will begin resolving your Actions, and it will no longer be possible to submit Actions for that Turn. Once Control is finished resolving your Actions, generally late Sunday or early Monday, the outcomes of characters Actions will become visible in CANDI, the web interface. Particularly public or noisy actions and outcomes may be revealed in the in-game news.

For the benefit of all, we ask that you stick to the following when playing Gods’ Wars:

• Use the CANDI app to pull email addresses to ensure that the main Control email and all relevant player Controls (including your own) are copied. Click the “Copy Email” button to have the email addresses of the PC, their associated Control, and your Control pasted to your clipboard.
• Include the names of all characters (PC and NPC) involved in the conversation in the email header.
  Example: [Achilles/Belus/Poseidon] This Week’s Plans
• If you are writing directly to Control, please put ‘CONTROL’ in the email title
  Example: [CONTROL] Questions About How My Asset Works[10]These are super helpful for processing your inbox, especially as game control! I also set up email filters so each email addressed to my characters would be tagged and color coded. I loved it and will set that up for myself as control every time in the future. So helpful for figuring out who you owe replies to and how many you need to write.
• Avoid talking about in-game material elsewhere to avoid spoilers.
• While there will be a Discord available, unless specifically directed to by Control, conversations in the Discord should be out of character and should not contain in-game information.

Once your role has been cast, you will receive a character brief containing your demigod’s name and backstory, a unique starting Trait for your demigod, starting connections with other characters, and assigned Control. You will also receive a questionnaire that will allow you to customize some parts of your character’s backstory, including their profession and how they fit in London society.[11]What exactly you'll ask them to provide you is going to differ based on each game, but you do want to have your players be able to customize a bit of their characters.

Additionally, your character’s personality, style of speech, and method of communication (i.e., footman, carrier pigeon, etc.) and actions going forward are up to you. Though your brief may pull you strongly in certain directions, they are designed to leave you considerable wiggle room. The same concept could be taken in very different directions. We encourage you to take your character and make them your own. An example can be found later in this document.

Actions

Players have 2 Actions every week.[12]I liked 2 actions because I always knew how many action resolutions we were going to have that weekend and it was a very manageable amount. Though, since the last two games had 1-3 actions, lots of people missed that 3rd action. It also made for some weird rounds, like the last round where people probably had only one main thing to do, but they were submitting two things anyway. I'd probably go back to the Effort system again (though with some caveats- ones that clarify what it means to use multiple effort and to make it mechanically better to do so, which wasn't super clear in the last few systems)Players can coordinate to perform Actions together. For each Action, a d10 will be rolled automatically. Traits and Assets can be assigned to Actions to improve the odds of securing a success, but more importantly, to mitigate against consequences and outright failure. A maximum of 3 Traits or Assets can be put towards any Action, although there is no requirement for any to be attached.[13]This has been consistent so far for all of these iirc. It's a good number to make sure that there isn't a HUGE difference in those who have succeeded every turn or failed, etc.

Traits and Assets need to be relevant or helpful for the additional dice to be rolled - this can be explained in your description of the Action. A Trait or Asset may only be applied to one Action per turn. While we encourage creative use of Traits and Assets, the decision of the Control resolving the Action is final. If you fail to describe why/how you are using a Trait or Asset, Control may choose to ignore that Trait or Asset and not roll the associated die.

Example Action[14]I would recommend writing your own examples here, ones that are themed to your game in particular!

Presenting a trophy: I bring the Sword of Damocles to Lady Maribeth, to impress her with fine weaponry. I make various sword-related puns to woo her.

Asset used: Sword of Domacles (d8)

If Lady Maribeth is known not to appreciate fine weaponry, and in fact to detest all manner of fighting, your action will likely fail, even if the associated die roll is high (i.e., a “hand in blender” action). A high roll cannot save you from a bad plan.

Action Resolution

For each Trait or Asset put towards an Action (with a maximum of three allowed per action), an additional die will be rolled. Each Trait or Asset you have will be given a value: d4, d6, d8, and very rarely d10. The appropriate dice will be rolled based on which Trait or Asset you apply to that particular action.

For both of your two allocated actions, the highest result will be taken and evaluated on the following chart:[15]I highly recommend that you make an internal document for how to resolve actions based on rolls. I'm not sure if we'll have one of these available on the website, but if not, ask a prior control and I'm sure they'd be happy to share an example!

Should your requested action exceed the scope of what can be accomplished, you may be given a notice or resource indicative of partial progress or progress towards completing a project, which you can spend future actions to finish.[16]Let me highly recommend against this, unless there is a way to track it in CANDI. Tracking will be your most dastardly enemy as game control. Track as little as possible. You will be so grateful for all the time you save later.

Example Actions

Tea with the Rothburn Sisters: Trying to discover the identity of Lord Rothburn’s other suitors, I will take tea with his sisters with hopes of hearing what gossip they have on the matter. I will use my natural charm to put them at ease.

Traits used: Natural Charm (d8)

Dice rolled: 1d10 and 1d8 (1d10 for your action, 1d8 for the appropriate Trait) with the highest roll being counted.

Investigate Maria’s Disappearance: I will infiltrate Scotland Yard using my connections there and clothing obtained from the wardrobe to locate their case files and evidence with the goal of understanding their progress so far and any leads they have.

Traits used: Friends at Scotland Yard (d8), Theater Wardrobe (d4), Back Alley Brawler (d6).

Dice Rolled: 1d10, 1d8, 1d4 (1d10 for your action and 1d8 and 1d4 for accepted Traits of Scotland Yard and Theater Wardrobe respectively. Back Alley Brawler was not accepted as no explanation was given as to how this was used towards the Action and there was no obvious link) with the highest roll being counted.[17]It's nice to have examples of a variety of actions, assets/traits, etc. Having an example of a trait not being accepted is useful as well.

Default Actions

Just in case something goes wrong and you cannot submit an Action on any Turn, you can set a Default Action through CANDI. Your Default Action is the Action your character will take when no Actions are submitted that Turn. We recommend something relatively generic which would likely be helpful in a variety of circumstances. Visiting friends for tea, gossiping at the shops, working on your family’s businesses, training yourself, or producing resources may make good Default Actions.[18]I don't think I've ever seen people really use these, which is a shame, because once or twice they HAVE forgotten their actions. Definitely ping them close to time to remind them.

Traits & Assets

Each PC starts the game with a single Trait, set forth in their brief. Starting Traits will be related to your parent god and will involve a particular supernatural ability that you can use.

A Trait is an aspect of a character which is likely to be helpful in performing Actions. As players progress through the game, it is possible to acquire additional Traits as well as new Assets.

An Asset is a character’s possession which may be used in the same way as a Trait, but is separable from them. As a result, an Asset can be lost, given or lent to another character, while a Trait may not be. To lend an Asset to another character for a turn, use the web interface. Other than the fact they are separable from the character, Traits and Assets are mechanically the same.

Upgrading Traits

In some circumstances, it may be appropriate to upgrade the dice you are given for a particular trait. For example, through an Action, you built yourself an Exquisite Mansion and were given this as an Asset with the value of d6. Through additional actions, such as spending effort to do renovations on your mansion, you can upgrade your Mansion to a d8. If this happens, you will be informed of this in your action submissions and the relevant die will be changed in the app.

Not all Assets or Traits will make sense to be upgraded and thus doing so will not be possible. This is up to Control’s discretion.[19]This was a mechanic unique to GW. What I liked about it was that it allowed us to have a larger variety of ways to resolve actions. Better result? d8. Worse result? d4.

The downside of course is that it did make those luckier folks a little more lucky as time went on.

Being a London Resident

As you go about your business in London, you will be interacting with the locals present, ranging from street urchins up through the rich and powerful nobles. As you do, you will start to build relationships with them, both platonic and romantic.[20]As I've mentioned previously, if you want players to care about stuff, making it a game mechanic can certainly help with that! I wanted it to feel a bit like a dating sim and to have people care about romance and relationships more than they would in other games. As such, I adapted Kyle's Bonding mechanic from DC

Bonds

Bonds represent your character’s relationships- both positive and negative- with mortal NPCs, which can have narrative and/or mechanical benefits. Just like real people, NPCs have people they like and dislike, and your actions in interacting with them will determine how they feel about you according to the scale below:

You may make relationships with both PCs and NPCs; however, your relationships with PCs will develop more organically[21]The biggest problem with the bond system in my opinion, is that the relationships with NPCs don't develop quite as organically when there is a game mechanic for it. Some people bond NPCs fast for the extra bonuses it gets you and then largely ignore them during the game. Others spend a lot of time chatting with NPCs, but don't have the actions to spend on them and thus their relationship feels like it should be higher, but it isn't.

The other issue is that bonded is limited. It makes sense from a psychological perspective- you can't be best friends with everyone. On the other hand, it can feel realy bad if someone bonds an NPC before you do, especially if it is an NPC you really care about.and will not be tracked using the rules discussed below.

Neutral

The default position a PC will have with an NPC if they have not had an interaction or have lacked meaningful interaction. At this level, NPCs will dutifully fulfil their functions, particularly if provided compensation, but otherwise will not be willing to do favors for or give much information to the PC.

Unfriendly

If a PC has, through their own actions or via rumours spread about their actions (based on their actions or interactions with other PCs and NPCs), earned a poor reputation with an NPC, they will likely be unfriendlier in email communications and reluctant to provide you with information. They will almost certainly not assist you in actions.

Loathing

If a PC has earned the ire of an NPC, they will receive penalties to actions where they are involved and they may flat out refuse to have anything to do with you, which could affect your relationship to the NPCs they have connections with.

Warm

This is a level you can reach through interacting with NPCs through email and having positive interactions with them.[22]The reason you cannot get higher than Warm without spending actions is that we did not want to mechanically benefit people who had more time to send emails. Merely positively communicating with an NPC a handful of times may be enough for some, but other NPCs may need more or specific types of interactions. NPCs are people, and everyone is different![23]I'd say be careful with this- make sure that your control are relatively similar in what's necessary to get to warm with their NPCs. NPCs can differ, but you don't want some control giving this out after a single interaction and others not for several weeks. NPCs who are Warm with you will be more forthcoming in messages. There is no limit to the number of NPCs you can attain Warm status with.

Friendly

This level is only reachable by doing an Action involving the NPC in question. Depending on your role or on the NPC, more than one Action may be required. When you reach Friendly status with an NPC, you will acquire them as a Bond. This is a special type of Asset that you can use in your Actions. This represents that your relationship with this person is now close enough to you that they are willing to help you out with most requests. Be sure to discuss with them through role play (RP) over email what you are asking them to do to ensure that they are interested and willing in helping you out with your action. There is no limit to the number of NPCs you can attain Friendly status with.

Bonded

This level is only reachable by doing an Action involving the NPC in question, specifically something they want to accomplish, in addition to regular email interaction. This NPC will trust you almost implicitly and provide you with information, assistance, and resources as needed. When you reach Bonded status with a character, you gain a permanent Trait or Asset that you can use for the rest of the game. This is in addition to the Asset you received after getting to Friendly status. Each player and character may only have up to 3 NPCs at Bonded status during the game.[24]This was partially to mitigate the fact that NPCs can only be bonded to one individual (and in extreme cases 2). We didn't want people to be closed out of getting anyone bonded because someone just spent their whole game grabbing up all the NPCs.

If you devote an action to becoming Friendly or Bonded with an NPC, you will be informed of such in your action resolution and your asset(s) will be added accordingly. In addition, each week, CANDI will be updated to show players their status with NPCs, including statuses like Warm, Unfriendly, and Loathing, that may come about organically through communication rather than through action resolutions.[25]Didn't have this in the last iteration of the bonded system, which made it extra tough when you lost out on NPCs as it could be unexpected. This way at least you knew a bit in advance

Mechanically, when your relationship with an NPC gets to Friendly, you are able to use that NPC as a d6. When your relationship increases to Bonded, it will be upgraded to a d8 and you will get a unique Trait or Asset representing something about that NPC or your relationship to them.

Romantic Relationships

Once you reach Warm status with an NPC, you may pursue a romantic relationship with them at any time with their consent. If you would like to formally propose to an NPC during the game, you must be at least at Friendly status for them to agree. You do not need to be Bonded with an NPC to propose to them, but you will need to be Bonded in order to get married.[26]I remember having a lot of discussion on this rule, though ironically I think we largely forgot about it, as I can recall at least one marriage that occurred when the NPC was not bonded to the NPC.

Marriages and relationships and rumours about such were a bit less codified than we'd expected. But it was all fine. I guess in retrospect I don't know that I'd make a rule like this? Though it makes logical sense? I'm still conflicted honestly. You do not need to spend an action on proposing to or marrying an NPC. Each week, any proposals will be reported in the society papers, unless otherwise specified by the player.

Just like real people, not all NPCs will be open to or looking for romance. NPCs will have sexualities and preferences as well. Excellent roleplaying and rolls on Actions might make an NPC change their mind or become open to romance when they weren’t initially, but this is not guaranteed.[27]We initially wanted to make their sexualities public, which I'm very glad we didn't do. Perhaps it's being bi in real life, but I really love just relationships developing organically and caring less about the gender of the person involved.

Behind the scenes we still had sexualities in the NPCs bios, but they were largely ignored, and most of them were bi or pan anyway. Hilariously, the only two heterosexual characters did not end up in a heterosexual relationship. So anyway, my point is, go with what feels right in relationships rather than obsessing about the character's sexuality, though if that's something you feel strongly about, then feel free to do this differently. You can always progress from Warm to Friendly to Bonded, regardless of your romantic status with an NPC.

Some NPCs may be open to polyamorous relationships and marriages. If this is something you are interested in pursuing, be sure to get the explicit permission of all PCs and NPCs involved in the relationship.[28]We sadly had a LOT of bad poly relationships. What made them bad was a lack of IC communication- not telling at least one of their partners that they were seeing other people or not getting their permission until afterwards, that kind of thing.

It was a little sad, just in that I didn't want people to see the relationships in this game and think like yup just like irl all poly relationships are about cheating or that kind of stupid stereotypical shit. I don't think that's the impression people got though, and I do think the drama was fun for everyone OOC. Plus we did have ONE good example of a poly relationship thank goodness.

NPCs can be at Bonded status with a maximum of one person (two in exceptional circumstances)[29]I think the only case we did this is if two people were pursuing it simultaneously and it made sense for them both to get it.. However, just because you are not at Bonded status with them does not mean you can’t pursue a romantic relationship, close friendship, or valuable relationship with them. For most NPCs, Friendly is enough to have very rich and interesting relationships.

At any given time, on CANDI, you can see the number of relationships an NPC has and at what level (e.g. Lilian Thompson: 4 PCs at Warm, 3 at Friendly, 0 at Bonded) These will be updated weekly with action resolutions.

You may also pursue friendships or romantic relationships (with consent) with other PCs, although there are no bonds granted for doing so.[30]Initially we were worried that we should give people something for this, but that seemed weird. I think this might have been the first game in which we had PC to PC romantic relationships (though it may have been just one?) and everyone handled it really well.

Romance Writing Guide[31]We knew people would have different expectations about this going into it- several people were very comfortable writing explicit romance and many mentioned specifically that they did NOT want that.

To make sure that everyone (players AND control) were comfortable, this is what we went with, which honestly was sort of the unspoken way romance was dealt with in other games when it came up. However, since this was a major theme of the game, it was really important imo to have this here.

Romance is a large part of this game; however, we would like to set clear boundaries about what our expectations are of you and what you can expect from us in terms of the content of that romance. Sexual content with PCs and NPCs must be hinted at only in your writing. We want to make sure everyone is comfortable, so we will take a “fade to black” approach. You can end scenes after entering the bedroom together, begin scenes after waking up together, but please do not explicitly write sex scenes or ask control to do so.

Non-consensual romance of any kind with PCs and NPCs is prohibited. Remember that consent can also be withdrawn after it has been given if the PC or NPC feels uncomfortable[32]There were many players who were remarkably good at this and modeled it for everyone. I would have been a bit more explicit/provided more examples here in the future.

For example, don't assume that other people will consent in your writing. When you say you're going to do something, adding something like "if they allow it" is really appreciated. Even if you're in a relationship with a character, respecting boundaries is so important!. If you are ever uncertain, it is best practice to send an out-of-character (OOC) email or DM on discord asking the PC or control who plays the NPC for clarification or permission before proceeding.

If you are ever uncertain of whether or not something you want your character to do is acceptable under these rules or for any other reason, please ask your control or game control. Please err on the side of caution to ensure that everyone feels safe and comfortable. If you ever do not feel comfortable or safe about this or anything else, please speak with your control or game control.

Being a Demigod

You are a demigod- the child of a God and a mortal, bestowed with additional powers beyond those of mere humans. You will begin with one divine power in the form of your starting Trait. During the course of the game, you may gain additional powers or artifacts from Gods by doing Quests for them and gaining their favour.

The Gods' Wars

Gods’ Wars is ultimately a competition for the entertainment of the other gods. You will be rewarded, of course, with the ultimate prize- Ascension to Godhood yourself. You will be competing with the other demigods (i.e., PCs), and only the top 6 will be able to Ascend. As a part of the competition, each God has picked an Aspect that they would like to see PCs excel at. Doing Quests for that God will typically gain you their Favour as well as points in that Aspect. Other actions related to an Aspect can also gain you points in it. Each of the Aspects will be added together to give you an overall score. The top 6 overall scorers in the competition will have the option to Ascend to Godhood at the end of the game.

Aspects include Justice (Hera), Bonding (Aphrodite), Arts (Apollo), Sporting (Artemis), Hedonism (Dionysus), Fabrication (Hephaestus), Scholarship (Athena), Pugilism (Ares), Trickery (Hermes), Balance (Demeter), and Glory (Zeus, Poseidon, Hades).More information on the Aspects can be found on the Wiki[33]In theory, this was a really cool idea- having one Aspect for each God. In practice it was a huge hassle and a nightmare to track. Scott made us a spreadsheet on CANDI and programmed some extra stuff a few weeks in that made it significantly better. However, don't do this to yourself. Find a way to make it a cool theme and also not to be a nightmare on the tracking end of things.

It also was really tough to make sure we had enough plots of each kind. Some of these were easier to do than others. Overall, great in theory, terrible in practice.

While your parent and/or sponsor god[34]Not all the sponsor gods were their parents, because some gods were virgins or monogamous, etc. I probably would have reduced the parent gods that weren't in the game though, as I did feel bad for players who really wanted to meet their parent but we very much were not going to create new NPCs for any god you wanted to meet. may be participating in the event, this does not mean they will give you special treatment. They want to have the best chance of winning and if you aren’t doing well, your ties- blood or otherwise- will mean nothing.

Each week, when action resolutions come out, we will also update the Leaderboard, which will show the top three scorers in each Aspect. At the end of the game, the top three scorers in each Aspect will get an additional +3/+2/+1 points respectively[35]Oh god the Leaderboard was also a tracking and mathematical nightmare. All worked out in the end, but spent far too much time making it so.. Information about overall rankings may be shared at other points during the game.[36]I thought people would really want this information, so we released it starting halfway through the game (it made little sense before that). Some people did, and some people very much did not want to know, so we ended up making it opt in.

Gods’ Devotion Tracks[37]Why yes this is just a reskinned version of the Bond system

As you develop stronger ties with each God, you will progress on their devotion track. Gods will provide guidance during the game about how to progress on their individual devotion track and may offer Quests to complete to gain their favour. A list of known Gods- those whose patronage will be available to achieve- will be available, both on the Wiki and on CANDI. You can also speak with Tiresias, a neutral NPC designed to help you with the Gods’ Wars competition, for advice about gaining the favour of particular Gods[38]Most games will have a "helper" NPC. They are not always explicitly labelled like this, but we felt we wanted to do so in this case, especially if people were confused about the rules of the competition.. It is also possible that increasing your ties to one God may weaken or strengthen your ties to another God.[39]We wanted to do this, but I don't think we ever actually did. Lots of cool stuff you plan that just slips through the cracks when you get to the reality of running one of these.

Only one PC can attain the level of Blessed for each God (two in exceptional circumstances). Each player can only reach Blessed status with one God. The number of PCs at each level of devotion for each God will be publicly available on CANDI. For example,

Zeus: 4 PCs at Preferred, 3 PCs at Favoured, 0 at Blessed

[40]Changed the name of these to represent that it is different, because you do NOT get assets for befriending Gods (they're not doing favours for you), but you do get points and probably some powers and stuff too

Neutral

The default position a PC will have with a God if they have not had an interaction or have lacked meaningful interaction. At this level, Gods can be assumed to act in their self-interest and will not be willing to do favors or give particularly useful information to the PC, unless it benefits them in some way. Gods may give out Quests at this level when asked explicitly.

Disfavoured

If a PC has, through their own actions or via rumours spread about their actions (based on their actions or interactions with other PCs and NPCs), earned a poor reputation with a God, they will likely be unfriendlier in email communications and reluctant to provide you with information. They are not willing to give out Quests to PCs at this level

Condemned

If a PC has earned the ire of a God, they will receive penalties to actions where they are involved and they may flat out refuse to have anything to do with you, which could affect other Gods or NPCs they have connections with. They are not willing to give out Quests to PCs at this level.

Preferred

You can reach Preferred status through email and having positive interactions with them. Each God is going to have different preferences and personalities and appealing to these can help you gain Preferred status. Gods who you have Preferred status with will be more forthcoming in messages. There is no limit to the number of Gods you can attain Preferred status with. Gods will be willing to give out Quests at this level, but you may need to encourage them to do so.

Favoured

This level is only reachable by doing an Action involving the God in question. At this level, Gods are going to be more likely to share information with you or give you limited assistance in actions. Unlike NPCs at Friendly, Gods cannot be used as assets, but may give out assets through doing Quests for them. Gods will happily offer you Quests at Favoured status. When you reach Favoured status with a God, you will increase your progress in that God’s Aspect. There is no limit to the number of Gods you can reach Favoured status with.

Blessed

This level is only reachable by doing a special Quest for a God, as well as regular email interaction. The God will trust that you are working in their favour and will favour you in the competition for Ascension. When you reach Blessed status with a God, you will increase your progress in that God’s Aspect. Because this is a competition and the Gods get jealous of one another, each player may only reach Blessed status with one God.

Just because you cannot attain Blessed status with a particular God does not mean that pursuing devotion with them is not worthwhile. The Favoured status still means that a particular God will favour you and offer you information, Quests[41]At one point we discussed Gods only offering quests at certain levels of devotion, but ultimately rejected the idea as Quests were a core gameplay loop that you couldn't really have limited access to., or other valuable effects.

Because players may take actions that displease their Gods, you can also decrease your status on the Devotion Track. However, the higher you are on the Devotion Track, the less likely it is that you will lose this status. It is very difficult (but not impossible) to be removed from Blessed status after maxing out the Devotion Track for a particular God. You can regain these statuses by regaining your Devotion to that particular God.

Because the Gods have existing relationships, your devotion with some Gods may impact your status with others as well, though you can never gain Favoured or Blessed status without direct action on your part. These pre-existing relationships could lead to positive or negative impacts on devotion.

Quests

During the game, Gods will have various Quests that they may ask you to complete. These Quests will be based on the individual God’s preferences and personality. For example, Aphrodite’s Quests are likely to be based on love and romance, whereas Ares’s Quests are likely to be based on fighting or conflict. Gods may give out Quests organically while you interact with them, or they can be asked. Completing Quests for Gods can earn you some combination of points in their Aspect, Favour with that particular God, and Traits and/or Assets.[42]We wrote these in advance and had them on a giant document. We really didn't know what to expect in terms of like the number we would need and which gods would be popular, so I think we had about 6-8 unique ones for each, 10-15 in total. Some quests made a bit more sense to allow to have multiple of and some did not.

In retrospect, this mechanic really needed to be nailed down a bit better. There were some Quests that were much easier or harder than others, and Gods wouldn't give you a new Quest if you didn't like the one you had or asked a ton of Gods for Quests (though we made some exceptions if people were having a really tough time with them). We wanted to make them open-ended so we weren't just railroading PCs into doing the plots we wanted, but I don't know if that was the right thing. Some were just so vague that I think people had a lot of trouble nailing them down.

For example, you may attempt to slay a Hydra that has, rather awkwardly, appeared on the outskirts of London, wreaking havoc on the mortals, to attempt to fulfill a Quest for Ares. Rolling well and successfully completing this quest can grant you points in the Pugilism Aspect, favour with Ares, and a potential asset (e.g. Monster Slayer- d8) that can be used in future actions. Rolling poorly, however, can lead to consequences, such as injuries from the Hydra, or losing favour with Ares and points in the Pugilism Aspect. Unless you roll exceptionally well or exceptionally poorly, you are not likely to gain or lose all 3[43]A guide for this (for control) was in our action resolution guide. If you are particularly interested in assets instead of favour or points, for example, please write that in your action resolution and control will resolve accordingly.[44]This we had to clarify and I don't know that it worked super well as some people wouldn't request that they wanted anything, and some people would have a laundry list of items like 10 things long. It's nice to give people what they want, but we also didn't want people to be asking for so much or such specific things that we didn't want to get them that.

Working together with other PCs on Quests means that you will share the rewards. You will not gain as many points as you would if you tackled it individually, however you will still get Quest items and favour from the God provided you roll well enough[45]We absolutely nixed this like immediately Round 1. Way too hard to do on the control end of things and some control remembered and some forgot which really did not work out super well.. Additionally, you are more likely to succeed with the help of other PCs.. Taking on a Hydra with a small team, for example, is much easier than taking it on alone.

Quests are designed to be open-ended so that there is not one “right” way to complete them. It is up to you to decide how to go about pursuing that Quest. Importantly, you must indicate in your action resolution that you are attempting to complete a Quest or you will not get credit from the God from doing so[45]Why do this? It is impossible for us to know what quest each person has at each time and what they are going for. Again, a tracking nightmare, so we asked players to specify for us.. If your action resolution does not specify that you are trying to complete a Quest or your action is not relevant for the Quest, you will not gain the relevant rewards. See below for several examples.

Kill a Hydra: I will go after the Hydra in the outskirts of London, along with The Champion. We have heard where it has last been seen and we will set up a trap for it there, involving blinding it with glitter. I will use my incredible strength and she her incredible speed in order to kill it. I will then tell Ares that I have fulfilled his Quest to kill a monster and regale him the story of our doing so.

Dazzling Proposal: I have been courting Alex Stillwell for several weeks now and we have grown very close. I will plan a dazzling proposal, involving a trip to Hyde Park in which I will serenade them when we stroll beneath the oak tree where we first kissed. Next, I will row us out to the middle of the lake there, kiss them, and present them with the ring before asking them to marry me. Later, I will tell Aphrodite that I have fulfilled her Quest to find true love and gush to her about my new fiance.

Aoratos

Magic is not native to London nor to Earth. Just like in Greek mythology, it is dangerous for mortals to see the gods in all their glory. In fact, any displays of magic are dangerous to mortals. Unlike Greek mythology, however, it is unlikely to outright kill them. Instead, their minds re-write what they’ve seen. Fortunately, they forget what they’ve seen. Unfortunately, the mind is imperfect and can’t always filter out just the magic. The more intense the display of magic, the more it will affect mortals’ minds. However, it is an imperfect science, and it is recommended not to use one’s powers or use any other type of magic in front of the mortals. It wouldn’t do to have someone inconvenient catch on. Or to have your best friend or romantic partner forget who you are.[47]Thought this would be a good way to limit people from throwing around their powers everywhere and having to constantly write mortals being like OMG. We debated on a couple of ways and I thought this was the most interesting.

It had a lot of incredibly fascinating implications, including on the end of the game where players who stayed on Earth couldn't recall their time as demigods- at least not the magical bits.

Quick Reference Guide[48]I highly recommend having one of these at the end (or beginning) of your rulebook. It's a lot of information, and it helps to condense it. I'd keep it to one page. I purposefully edited it so it wouldn't be longer than that

How to Play PbEm game guide: A guide to Play By Email Megagaming - Google Docs[49]Extra bonus info for new players written by Stu. I believe he is happy to share this if it isn't on OMEGA's site already, but again please ask.

Action Resolution and Resources

You will have two actions each turn. You can apply up to three additional resources (traits, assets, and/or bonds) to each one. These will be represented by an extra dice that is rolled.

Bonds

Mortal NPC relationships are tracked. You will start at Neutral with NPCs and may, through interaction by emails, progress them to Warm. By taking an Action to help or otherwise get close to them, you can become Friendly in which they will become a d6 resource that you can apply to an Action. Further investment through Actions may lead to becoming Bonded, the highest level you can reach with mortal NPCs. This will increase your bond to a d8 resource and provide you with an additional trait or asset. NPCs can only become Bonded with one PC.

Devotion

Your relationships with Gods (excluding Tiresias) are also tracked. You will start at Neutral and may, through interaction by emails, progress them to Preferred. By taking an Action to help or otherwise get close to them, you can become Favoured. Further investment through Actions may lead to you becoming Blessed, the highest level you can reach with God NPCs. Gods do not provide resources for progressing on their devotion track, but you will receive points in their Aspect based on your devotion level. Gods can only progress to Blessed with one PC.

The Gods’ Wars

The top 6 competitors in the Gods’ Wars will have the option to Ascend to Godhood at the end of the competition. Competitors (the 26 PCs) score points by progressing on Gods’ devotion tracks, completing Quests for Gods, or otherwise taking actions related to Gods’ Aspects.

Aspects

Aspects are categories selected by the Gods for you to score points in. They include Justice (Hera), Bonding (Aphrodite), Fabrication (Hephaestus), Sporting (Artemis), Arts (Apollo), Hedonism (Dionysus), Scholarship (Athena), Pugilism (Ares), Trickery (Hermes), Balance (Demeter), and Glory (Zeus, Poseidon, Hades). The top three scorers in each Aspect will be displayed on the Leaderboard. At the end of the game, the top three scorers in each Aspect will get bonus points. Points in Glory will be worth slightly more to compensate.

Quests

Gods may give out Quests, open-ended requests that they would like for you to fulfill. Completing a Quest will score you points in that Gods’ Aspect in addition to increasing your devotion with that God and gaining you an artifact or divine power. You must include text in your action resolution indicating you are attempting to complete a specific Quest, or you will not be able to do so.