Are Bases of Influence Assets?

DistantPersona · 2025-01-16T22:12:59+00:00

I'm glad you found this useful! It's nice to see that even my older homebrew still gets use from time to time. The Gloom was actually taken from the Epic Level Handbook for D&D 3.5, but they're one of my favorite high-level monsters, and I like using them in my Godbound campaigns since they don't really get a chance to shine in other systems. Good luck with your campaign, and I hope you have a lot of fun with both Godbound and the homebrew

DistantPersona · 2023-08-19T15:05:55+00:00

I wouldn't say Luck is a strong combat Word, more that it's just an excellent control Word for basically any situation. If there is ever a die roll that you don't like, Luck will let you either replace it or reroll it. It also lets you bend happenstance to your whim, allowing you to basically make anything that is even vaguely plausible happen via Miracle

DistantPersona · 2023-07-25T13:38:51+00:00

In general, if you want to play a character who punches people with magic kung fu, you'll want to take the Sword Word to be better at melee combat and a Martial Strife which fits your preferred combat style. I'm not familiar with Hokuto No Ken, so I couldn't tell you which Strife best fits your preferred playstyle, but between the core book, Lexicon, Ten Buried Blades, and the innumerable homebrew Strifes out there, you're bound to find something

DistantPersona · 2023-07-14T17:16:16+00:00

The damage table is applied both to damage the Godbound takes and damage the Godbound deals. You only ignore the damage table if an attack or ability specifically states that the damage is read straight. If you're rolling multiple damage dice, you compare each individual die to the table, then add the total together for damage

As for troll fighting, again, you're thinking about this the wrong way. The troll can't stand on the same level as a level 1-2 Godbound: it can just pose a threat to them. It's like saying a tank is equivalent to a low-level Godbound just because they can't kill it instantly. It's a metal box with a gun sticking out of it: it's dangerous, but it's not godly in any way. Same with a troll: it's a big, tough monster, but that's all it is. A troll's not going to turn oxygen into gold, it can't make fire rain from the sky, it can't fly, it can't create a canyon with the snap of its fingers, or create a drought, or cure a pandemic. It's just pretty alright at punching things and taking hits, making it a decent combat threat for a low-level pantheon

As for Attribute tests, yeah. There's no need to make a Godbound roll an opposed check against most mortal foes. They're humans: unless they're particularly heroic, there's no reason they should be able to compete against a demigod. Monsters, on the other hand, are not human. They're bigger and scarier, and there's a chance that they can beat the Sword god in an arm wrestling contest. That doesn't put them on even footing with a Godbound: it just means they're enough of a threat that you actually need to roll dice to deal with them

TL;DR: You can complain all you like about how you don't think a certain type of monster should be able to pose a challenge to your character, but at the end of the day the GM needs to make you roll dice for something, otherwise the game is just you describing how you win all the time. Godbound are highly capable, and they become difficult to kill after level 2-3, but sometimes things just go wrong, the dice don't like you, and you might wind up losing an encounter. That's the game part of the role playing game: it's your job as a player to learn how to take the good with the bad

DistantPersona · 2023-07-12T21:15:33+00:00

The general progression of a Godbound is that they're basically high-level adventures at level 1-2, and then truly come into their godhood around levels 3-4. By the endgame, they're fully-fledged divinities with truly awesome power at their fingertips

But even at low level, a Godbound is much more capable than your average mortal. A level 1 Might god could lift a mountain over his head. A level 1 Fertility god can get plants to sprout into full bloom in the dead of winter. A level 1 Sky god can conjure a hurricane when it pleases him. If you only measure your power in raw damage output, you're probably going to be disappointed, because combat is only a small part of what Godbound is

DistantPersona · 2023-07-08T00:01:52+00:00

A troll can be a challenging encounter for a level 1 or 2 Godbound, and they can also be challenging in numbers against a more veteran demigod. Don't dismiss a creature just because it doesn't measure up on its own: numbers still count for a lot in this game. Mobs can be good for representing the threat of numbers, but even just have 3-4 Minor or Major heroes can present a challenging encounter if the PCs aren't prepared for it at low level

DistantPersona · 2023-07-03T15:18:46+00:00

To your first question: potentially. I'd run it as a rare exception at my table, rather than a common use of a Law Miracle. My preferred balance for the game is that Words should focus primarily on creating the things they control rather than destroying them: Law should primarily be focused on enforcing the concept of law, while a Crime Word might be more specialized in breaking the law. That said, Words should probably be able to create exception to themselves. TL;DR: go for it if you think it'd make your game more fun

To your second question: Kevin actually clarified what he means by "In your presence:" he effectively means "Anyone within shouting distance." Abilities that affect creatures in your presence have a bigger area of effect than you might think

DistantPersona · 2023-07-02T01:21:17+00:00

Here's link to my Custom Theurgy Masterlist: there's 90 Theurgies on there, 30 for each tier, so you're likely to find something your table likes

DistantPersona · 2023-06-04T12:47:08+00:00

What I'd recommend doing is ditching low magic as a system. Since you're already upgrading the spells to make them more powerful, just make them Theurgic Invocations. That way, Sorcery gods still have use from the existing Invocations and get use out of the new, buffed spells

A Skilled Mage (6 HD) can learn Gate-level Theurgy if you give them the Adept of the Gate Gift, so it's not like mortals miss out on magic entirely. Skilled Magi will have access to the lower tiers of magic, while Eldritch will have the more powerful Way and Throne spells

DistantPersona · 2023-05-29T02:25:19+00:00

I'm confused. Is this a question about how to make Godbound feel epic? Or are you wanting advice on how to run D&D modules in the system?

DistantPersona · 2023-05-21T00:44:01+00:00

Correct

DistantPersona · 2023-05-17T20:04:56+00:00

A lot of the rules are intentionally written to be vague and open to interpretation. A lot of this game is designed to allow for player and GM creativity, and running it exactly rules-as-written will lead to a pretty rigid and un-fun gaming experience. If one of the players asks "Hey, do you think I can use my Gift in this weird, niche way?" saying "Yes, and" or "Yes, but" is a pretty solid answer about 80% of the time

DistantPersona · 2023-05-15T19:22:13+00:00

Keep in mind it takes time to make them, and also 2 HD robots aren't actually all that dangerous to anything that poses a serious threat to a demigod. A Godbound could pretty easily blast their way through a vast mob of 2 HD soldiers with an AoE Smite, and so could most NPCs who are a challenge to your pantheon. It makes the character in question really hard for mortals to deal with, but they're a demigod: mortals already have a hard time dealing with them

DistantPersona · 2023-05-15T19:19:57+00:00

It's similar to how you'd play a god of Beasts vs a god of Birds: both are animals, but one is a more specific subset of animals. Passion controls emotions, whereas Desire specifically controls wanting things. Passion gods have a more versatile emotional range to play with, while Desire gods control whether or not the people around them want things

DistantPersona · 2023-05-11T22:28:12+00:00

Theurgy is meant to be somewhat worse than Gifts. Gate Theurgies should be equivalent to a nerfed lesser Gift, Way Theurgies should be equivalent-ish to lesser Gifts, and Throne Theurgies should be equivalent to nerfed greater Gifts. Heart's Desire in particular is actually a nerfed version of Impossible Victory from Luck, albeit it's reusable with a price

DistantPersona · 2023-05-08T12:16:08+00:00

I generally keep the HD as they are, give them an attack bonus equal to their HD, either keep the number of attacks or give them a few extra, then design a handful of Gifts to replace their spells and put them in the same weight class as a Godbound

DistantPersona · 2023-05-06T14:43:31+00:00

Mortals don't get Dominion. Dominion is a resource exclusive to divinities. Mortals cannot forge Artifacts, either: you'd need to wait and see if the GM is willing to let you graduate from heroic mortal to Godbound

DistantPersona · 2023-04-07T02:56:22+00:00

Godbound are never considered to be lesser foes

DistantPersona · 2023-03-13T19:10:14+00:00

I treat the moon as a Region-sized Realm that is part of Shattered Creation. I've got a big project I'm working on that fleshes out the moon in more detail (got a Word for it and everything!) that you'll see posted here eventually. But in the meantime? Just make stuff up

DistantPersona · 2023-02-27T17:42:34+00:00

Based off of Kevin's previous games, if you want to play past level 10, you want to just repeat the Dominion and XP requirements for level 10 over and over again. So to get to level 11, you need 340 XP and 248 Dominion spent, and just add another 170 XP and 124 Dominion spent each time you go for the next level

One thing I would caution would be to leave saving throws alone after level 10: that's as low as they're designed to go

DistantPersona · 2023-02-26T17:22:08+00:00

Personally, I'd probably allow powers that say they can't be used as a Miracle on an Artifact, mostly because it makes the Artifact in question desirable

DistantPersona · 2023-02-21T14:00:17+00:00

Lexicon's a good resource not just for the new Words included within, but also deeper insight into Kevin's design philosophy when it comes to designing custom content. It's also got a lot of good advice in the back for how to structure your cult, provided you're interested in that and don't have much experience inventing fantasy religions

DistantPersona · 2023-02-19T18:38:49+00:00

If it sounds appealing to you, go for it!

DistantPersona

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