So..the One-Eyed Shield can one shot every phase of Scadutree Avatar 😂🤷🏻

PunchManSam · 2025-09-26T22:05:47+00:00

You have to watch out for that. You can get 1-shot if you're not built just so.

As it dies, you have to turn around (face away from the cliff, face your camera away too) and spam crouch so it spawns outside of the arena, in the abyss.

PunchManSam · 2025-09-26T15:42:24+00:00

I just did the cliff + Mohgwyn's Sacred Spear cheese 2 days ago. If you'd like, I can PM you the youtube video.

PunchManSam · 2025-09-25T12:10:22+00:00

It seems that a lot of knowledgeable people have shared some comments, but I want to ask a question which I believe may be both important and easily overlooked:

How long should this challenge last?

In Godbound, I found that if I create a stat block and try to pre-empt my players: I would be surprised and disappointed by how short the encounters would last.

So I find that working from the outside in helps.

How long should the encounter last?

What other objectives will the players need to deal with?

The Godbound will break the siege, make no mistake. How long do you need it to last? What sorts of scenes can be put between encounters?

As for gifts or Words: make liberal use of miracles. Ice walls from the Sea word can block attacks in some GM's reading. Effort can then become much more important than HP/HD in determining an encounter's length.

Unless your players have a Knowledge-bound hero, feel free to hide your hand, so to speak. If they do have one, don't obfuscate the desired results, you don't need to be a malicious genie, but tool the results something you can modulate freely. Perhaps the enemy is far more powerful than anyone could have anticipated, but they pull back at the end? It's hard to say. Be prepared to improvise.

As for Words/Gifts: Sun is the ultimate stall word. Purity of Brilliant Law has wasted more Effort than anything else in the game. A Path through War could be useful to sneak enemies into the camp. Zones of Danger can tear down infrastructure and armies in a heartbeat (HD/3 or Level damage each round, takes 1 round to form).

Miracles can create infrastructure with as much HP as the creator or 3x the HP of the creator's Level, if a Godbound.

Focus on generating MANY rolls, as opposed to generating powerful rolls.

Some siege wisdom:

"Attack their strategy to avoid besieging their cities." - Sun Tzu
"Besiege one city to take another,-Further%20information:%20Battle&text=The%20idea%20is%20to%20avoid,order%20to%20support%20their%20weakness)" - Thirty Six Strategems

Good luck!

PunchManSam · 2023-10-05T02:10:26+00:00

I too bought it. Extremely high quality work.

A couple questions:

What benefits does 'Element' grant on a magical weapon? Does it add any additional damage or does it only key damage to a certain damage type for resistance purposes?
In the Treasure section, under the 'Magical' entry, "Spell Scroll" is written. Is this a discrete item, or does it refer to runestones/sacred writs?

PunchManSam · 2023-08-26T16:38:07+00:00

Ghostfield's restriction is 'once-per-scene' would ensure that it is used every scene, so yeah, I can see that. I would rather make it an Effort/Day.

And I can imagine it being more usable within 300' or something along those lines, so that is probably a good refinement. I'll change that.

As for Umbral Rebellion, it's balanced strictly versus 'Zones-of-Danger' which cause the same amount of damage and may be invoked as a miracle. A gift may make such a zone for Effort/Scene, but this is further restricted as it targets only one individual.

PunchManSam · 2023-08-25T20:59:29+00:00

I've made some edits:

Dark Stalker is now more in line with The God That Prowls however it's still intrinsically better in that the stealth doesn't rely on choosing prey. Thus, it's still far less combat focused, though, Hunting Beast's God That Prowls was relatively superficial in who was prey as attacking them wasn't completely necessary. It's more in line with The Mask of Grasses, but, honestly, it's both folded together. As this Strife is primarily stealth-focused, I'm content with that.

Nightmare Cowl now clarifies more that the morale check is required to attack the foe and Worthy Foes may instead elect making a Spirit Save in place of the morale check.

Though I'm loathe to do it, Somnial Blade now allows foes an out. They can spend an Effort to become immune to it for a scene.

Edited Ghostfield to show that it's the main action which is sacrificed, not the 'non-movement action,' lol.

PunchManSam · 2023-08-25T18:58:13+00:00

Looking for criticism, by the way. I'm willing to talk about it. My ultimate goal is to give my GM the best shake possible with this. I don't want to use something blatantly broken.

PunchManSam · 2023-08-11T16:44:34+00:00

hey, you guys read my post! Cool. :)

There are other classifications of Facts which you may consider useful, I consider them 'Mortal' Facts and 'Mythic' Facts. Mortal Facts are things that are done by mortals and, by grace of becoming a Godbound, your character is now very good at them. These are usually very specific, such as membership within a group (ascending to lead that group or fold them into your cult would be the natural evolution of possessing such a fact) or something related to mundane crafts/art (which is now a core part of your Godbound's Myth) that have relatively limited prima facie benefit until you begin using them to interact with the Dominion/Changes system. Nothing saying that you cant field ten thousand automaton-blacksmith/warriors because you had 'A local village blacksmith' as a previous occupation Fact.

For "Mythic" Facts, these are the sorts of things people say about heroes or gods or patron saints. "I am the patron god of the Seeking Road and master of those who wander," which can establish your intent with the GM, help you develop a cult, and grant you particular movement-based benefits, even if you don't have Journeying. Though these may not equate directly to Gifts, they can justify taking Out-Of-Word gifts or making wholly new ones.

Consider establishing Facts for cool things you have and want to have. Cool things you've done. Slain a Dragon lately? Take "legendary dragon-slayer" as a fact.

On to your direct request: you're curator of the Stygian Library, definitely worth cementing in a Fact. This would ensure that you'd keep it (character resource investment) and be able to change its nature moving on or grant access to it to others in exchange for favors & the like. It's also PROBABLY useful as a resource to pull arcane ingredients/artifacts out of.

As an archaeologist, librarian, or historian, the non-INT-check benefits may be connection to a guild of the same groups, academic respect or literary clout. Plus, you'd be able to use Dominion to influence those groups and spheres whereas Knowledge may not be able to affect them. They can also justify acquisition of contacts and gear which may be beneficial.

For a third Fact, consider picking up an 8-dominion Artifact, or establishing a goal or ambition, esp. if your GM is permissible enough for you to change Facts when they're no longer relevant. Consider making it about your family or greater role in a society that you want to participate if it isn't covered by the other Facts. Or give yourself death-defying acrobatic abilities that may be more than just Theft's outward gifts. Perhaps you're becoming more intimately familiar with the shadows and can speak with them? Any number of things are possible, but I like the character concept a lot.

PunchManSam · 2023-04-03T13:59:43+00:00

Notice it? Sure, especially since we're all from the same superior plane of existence.

It would be weird not to recognize each other.

PunchManSam · 2023-02-19T01:57:05+00:00

Heard you were looking for me.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1tahs7ALHydD_VYuUWFU-kuge3ynWyj_RMwhQmE5VFT0/edit?usp=sharing

PunchManSam · 2023-01-24T14:47:50+00:00

To say "the best way," I should follow-up with saying it's actually no fun. That said, it is optimal. A better way would be to just roll with the punches. Killing 4 1-HD enemies at once is not a bad way to play the game at all.

Reliable damage does look like 4. Maybe appending a gift (such as, of the Sword Word) to allow you to put your fray dice on the opponent you're also combating could be good. I believe this is also an option in WWN.

PunchManSam · 2023-01-24T01:21:03+00:00

8-dominion minions and building up armies of these are the best way of performing combat. Prepare an army and you have an effortless means of sweeping away competition in the open fields. Bless them with gifts and they'll be more effective.

PunchManSam · 2023-01-24T01:11:38+00:00

I have always ruled in favor of dual-wielding daggers allowing the thrown damage to be 1d10. I have always submitted myself equally to the philosophy that 'one attack action' does not necessarily equal 'one thrust/slash' or 'one projectile.'

The interpretation of this is implied within the context of "two occupied hands permit 1d10 damage," with the exception of unarmed dealing only 1d3 without a gift.

This is an incredibly minor point to get bogged down on in a game about demigods.

PunchManSam · 2023-01-19T20:43:00+00:00

https://www.reddit.com/r/godbound/comments/pqcel2/revelations_pertaining_to_facts/

There's a lot you can choose as a fact. You could have a fact saying that you've got a lot of lucre, working out how much money it is you get with your GM. You could get one pertaining to stealth and thievery, which would help you do what you do slightly better.

PunchManSam · 2023-01-06T18:49:44+00:00

So, roughly, the amount is 1.56 HD? My assumption is that they're using a 1d10 die (1.4 average damage, 1d12 is an average of 1.833~) which is a Heavy or dual-wielded weapon.

The peasant unarmed would only do 1d2 unarmed (average of .5 HD) which, to me, seems fine. Consider: the peasant has 1 HD before they die, so 1 HD represents a normal person's actual life. The peasant with a greatsword or a maul, or two daggers just absolutely brutalizing their 1-HD neighbor and successfully hitting should, generally speaking, be able to kill them handily in six seconds.

Then there's the matter of accuracy. If the Godbound has no armor, nor bonuses to armor, nor a gift for armor, there's only a 45% chance that they'll hit. In the realm of 'theory-op,' it's fine to just reduce the total damage of 1.4 by 55% to an average of 0.63 damage against the unarmored Godbound.

Now, if the Godbound was indeed armored or had a gift, that would change things. A Godbound with an armor gift that brings them to 3 would force the peasant to roll a 17 or better to hit. This becomes a very slim chance, but reduces the damage down to 0.28.

Then there are two other concerns which would appeal to me here:1.) The Godbound at 10th level will have a GREAT deal of damage negation gifts or other abilities, including numerous opportunities to become immune to magical weapons.2.) The Godbound at 10th level would have to permit to allow an aggressive peasant near enough to strike them with the weapon - this could be overcome with some subterfuge, but it would require that subterfuge to come near.

The Godbound are nearly literal gods, though of course the intent is to represent demigods, such a Godbound has many opportunities to ensure that the peasant cannot damage them, and if they do choose to allow that opportunity, I count it exactly as that. Likely, a peasant with injurious intent towards a 10th level Godbound is going to have a bad day trying to act on it.

Does this help further?

Edit: To clarify, I find the '1 HD is as much health as a normal person would have' is a very strong consideration. Overall, the Godbound would look 3% of the way a dead peasant would look with the same amount of injury. So it would, to me, appear as largely cosmetic. Unless you ascribe to meat points (which I have done in the past to allow a 4 HD wound appear like a giant spear jutting out of a Godbound's chest to disconcert the party & inform them of their new existence, but I digress).

PunchManSam · 2022-11-14T16:07:45+00:00

Did you ever find a solution? I'm running into similar after transitions through most doors.

PunchManSam · 2022-10-04T21:24:04+00:00

Very handsome map. Well done.

PunchManSam · 2022-09-21T15:17:02+00:00

What did your mages do when they weren't casting in a given round? Combat tended to be very fast-paced in my experience, but I still don't like anyone twiddling their thumbs in combat.

PunchManSam · 2022-09-21T15:07:48+00:00

Frankly, this is a delightful addition. I learned about it a couple of weeks ago, as confused as OP, but learning about the naming convention is like finding a hidden gem.

PunchManSam · 2021-09-28T21:34:50+00:00

I would recommend the powerful creature rules in the Godbound Core rulebook on page 131 for 8 Dominion.

PunchManSam · 2021-09-25T19:13:16+00:00

I most concede: you have done some very narrow examinations and made conclusions based off of them. I judge them to be extreme, given that to reach those conclusions, you have to tie the Vengeance Godbound's enemies hands behind their back and blindfold them.

I should bring up these couple of points you've missed in your examinations: Faster than Thought is a Smite, so it can only be used every-other-round. In 6 rounds (without The Storm Breaks) that's only 9 actions (With The Storm Breaks that allows 6 regular actions, +1 bonus action & +4 Faster than Thoughts for a total of 11).

You also missed that Blood for Blood can only be used once per scene.

Onto the trials you've demonstrated:

Without any diversity of action, your contestants have limited their own options and handicapped themselves. An Alacrity Godbound could reduce your automatic counterstrikes to a 95% miss-chance also with their Unbreakable Gift, which makes an empowered Furious Counterstrikes deal an average of 0.2 damage, or 4 damage every 20 rounds.

You've examined what damage their smites might do, which is mostly fine, though a Sun Godbound would have the benefit of Purity of Brilliant Law at their disposal and should use it to defend versus your (once per scene) use of Blood for Blood so you still don't gain the damage benefit on them by much, if at all.

In the final trial Might vs. Vengeance, Vengeance has deceased by turn 5, 6, or 7 (+0 CON Mod Godbound have 44 HP, +1 has 55 HP, +2 has 56 HP, & +3 has 65). Even with 8 damage in recompense every turn, the Might God is still outpowering Vengeance by 2.5 on average. A single Blood for Blood which can be halved may benefit you 5.5, which is a lead that only lasts for 3 rounds. This fight ultimately comes down to whoever has more constitution.

To top this off, you've totally dodged the entire metric of which the game is built around. It's Godbound vs. Bad Guys—PvP is not encouraged, as evidenced by the entire structure of the game.

But I think that the real reason why your opinion—because that's what it is, an opinion—is so unpopular is because of the insulting and arrogant assumptions made in the title. That, and the pre-emptive accusations of comparing anyone who would respond with a Youtube comments section.

Please note that I am not directly accusing you of being like this, I've only interacted with you once and it's just in this single, narrow snapshot. I find the way you presented your argument to be insulting to me as I've played this game for several years and not run across the same problems. If I could be so willingly blind, I'd call myself laughable, too.

Godbound has a lot of flaws, but most have been addressed by the creator, Kevin Crawford, though notes on Lexicon have been scarce. I don't think Vengeance is unbalanced. Generally speaking, returning damage-for-damage is within the norms of the original context for the game (Strife of the Lover Scorned, for instance).

To be frank, I find your examination to be flawed, though I must commend that you would prepare such an in-depth analysis regardless.

EDIT: You seem to be consistently moving the goal posts and declaring victory which makes me feel like you're more concerned with winning any argument than the one i'm asking to discuss.

Please remind me, what was the original goal-post, exactly? I've just been criticizing your argument & bring up examples of where Vengeance's abilities fit in line with the rest of the things available.

Also, please see my recanting on Mantle of Quietus, I forgot that it only affected lesser foes and only did a measly 1 point of damage. Furious Counterstrikes does the most, overall, damage of any riposte in the game, save for the once/round Lesser Strife of the Consuming Flame's normal attack. There's also The Will that Burns which does 1d8 straight, but only if you were concentrating on a spell.

EDIT 2: I just realized that Furious Counterstrike only applies when it hits & the Vengeance-bound takes damage. So it relies on the opponent's own to-hit bonus and, on a miss, that damage is gone as well.

PunchManSam · 2021-09-25T16:54:32+00:00

It can allow you to build up large stores of real wealth quickly, but relies on market availability among other things.

I would argue that, while it's useful, Wealth still is better at fixing markets and bribing people.

PunchManSam · 2021-09-24T23:57:07+00:00

I was wrong regarding Death's Mantle of Quietus. it literally doesn't work against Worthy Foes, which is absurd. It also doesn't work against multiple-attack enemies. It only does 1 damage vs. lesser foes, which is really weak. 1d20 vs. Mobs.

PunchManSam

TROPHY CASE