Sonel watched as a strange black thing made the glowey thing shoot at the other thing. It was even more surprised when the thing made a loud sound and then changed into a bunch of more different things.
"Wowee! Did you see that! The thing changed! The shadowy thing made the big thing change! I want to make another change now."
Quickly Sonel began floating around the newly formed asteroid field, looking particular rock fragments. After it had found three that by some odd logic it had judged adequate, Sonel brought them to the green sphere. It released them but they just hung in space, they didn't go around and around like the others were. With a frustrated noise, Sonel began digging into the forest sphere until it reached the very center. Then it flew out of the hole and took one of the smaller Orbs of Flame, placing it in the center of the forest sphere and sealing the tunnel behind itself. Like magic, the three asteroids were caught in the pull of the Orb of Flames and began to float around it, orbiting the tree-covered sphere.
Para observed the work of the other gods. She was quite intrigued.
"Look sisters, it seems we can not only create, but change as well. Fascinating."
The Sisters were learning much from these young ones. Panna, on the other hand, was not so delighted.
"Look what you did! You ruined our creations!"
She raged at the godlings, and she began to weep. The tears flowed and fell from her eyes. They rained down upon the green sphere below. The water seeped into the soil, and the plants drank of it, growing more and more plentiful with every passing moment.
Another godling? Voiceless had known his Maker must not be the only creature in this universe (a secret requires at least two, after all, three if it is to be shared with another), but this young god seemed... energetic. Even if he had not been intent to keep himself a secret the Silent One would most likely have hidden away as he did, simply to avoid having to deal with that sickening enthusiasm until another day.
Speaking of enthusiasm, the Voice Without Sound was glad he'd secreted away his world... it seemed as though his Maker of destruction intended to live up to his domain. "A... bold move, if I might say so my Maker," the silent god commented. 'So much wasted potential for secrecy and lies...'
A new thought caught the gods eyes as a speck of green flitted across his vision. And another one, and another one, and another one. The once empty void was now speckled with small green creations... 'life', the thought came to him unbidden. It seemed so interesting, had so much future potential... but his Maker would never approve of creation as opposed to destruction, and he did not want to irritate the one being that knew of his existence.
Although, if he were to... grasping at large amounts of the green algae, the silent god mushed all the specks together, creating one large, green mass which was more or less simply a green blob with tentacles. Sending into it a shard of his power, Voiceless then animated the thing, where it writhed in his grip for a moment before lazily flying off into the void, devouring all the green specks it came across. It grew with each mouthful it took, and eventually the creature divided into two, each of the two now smaller creatures flying off to repeat the cycle of their parent.
"Look maker, I have created creation that destroy," the Silent God noted proudly. "How ironic that these creatures remove creation, indeed the very thing that it is made of so much more effectively than fire or force can?"
PP Expenditure 2PP - Spawn Beast (Greater) - Spawn Void Amoeba, gigantic creatures that are more or less single tentacled cells that float through space devouring Void Algae. When they grow enough from eating, they divide in two, through a process similar to mitosis.
He wandered through out the newborn existence, irritated. Others were creating but he was not. They were changing the world, moving it on without him. Ifothers could take his niche, then what was the point?
Brushing against one of the large stones, he watched it blacken at his touch. Interest piqued, as did his anger, and he burned brighter, scorching away the plantlife in his immediate vicinity, calming him down as he realized he had created a force of destruction. Not creation. These stones were creation, long lasting and resistant to the forces of destruction.
He was nameles, but creation was his task, his goal, his purpose. These were creations. They were his. He felt himself changing, becoming solid as the stone yet still malleable and shifting as the flames. While this was interesting, he had an idea.
He gathered his power. He had been ceated by another. He had helped to create another. The ultimate act of creation, the creation of a creator. He could have no name until he reveled in this, the greatest act of creation. He released his newly aquired power into the world around him, forcing sentience into the stone, giving life to the earth, that a new creator might be born.
"Let is be known to ALL: I AM LOHAK, master of creation!"
After pausing to admire it's work for awhile, Sonel noticed a unique presence floating about. Curious and energetic as always, it quickly zipped about until it found a strange-looking different thing.
"Ooooh! What are you? A new friend?"
Sonel tried to touch the thing, but when it came too close the thing lashed out with a tendril and tried to grab Sonel. One of the tentacles connected and began to dissolve the godling, who quickly escaped it's grasp by pummeling it with pure gravitational force.
"Owowowww! That thing is no friend! Sonel doesn't like that thing. Sonel is going to make sure that thing doesn't reach Sonel or Sonel's new things ever!"
In a hurry the young deity returned to the forested-sphere and began to focus it's energy. It began diverting gravity from the Orbs of Flames and creating it's own as well. Sonel then began to disperse the gravity in a sphere around the green planetoid, creating a hyper-gravitational field around it. Anything attempting to pass through it would have a hard time now.
"There," Sonel gasped, very winded from the ordeal, "now none of those owwy things can get through and break this place."
Expenditure 3 PP Create Artifact - 'Gravity Wall' that protects the sphere from outward intrusion. Also makes it difficult for non-divines to leave the sphere.
Sorstal stirred. It felt itself open up to existence. The essence around him pulsed with the knowledge of existence.
Sorstal acknowledged that which bordered on its existence, for it sensed, and it had limits to these senses. It sensed what was it, and was not. Sorstal felt itself expand, as its awareness further bloomed. Sorstal recognized itself, and felt overwhelmed by that which was not it.
It acknowledged something then. It sensed it was not alone, for there was something like Sorstal nearby, yet it was not Sorstal. Sorstal could sense that the limitations of this other's senses were fewer than Sorstal's own.
This other. This other was the cause of Sorstal's awareness. Sorstal could not acknowledge a moment before it was aware. There was merely nothing to sense before it became aware. Sorstal sensed the presence of this other, and in doing so, felt, not just sensed, but felt, the power of this other, the few limits which existed around the one who was not Sorstal.
Sorstal's awareness approached this other one, who must have been before Sorstal.
"You are an other? Are you the one who made me aware?"
"I don't like X, they should remove it." "I like X, they should keep it." "They should replace X with Y." "Anybody that likes X is dumb. Y is better." "Why don't they include both X and Y." "Yeah, everybody can be happy then!" "But I don't like X, they should remove it." "X really needs to be replaced with Y." "But they can include both X and Y." "But I don't like X, they need to remove it." "Remove X, I don't like it."
Until you've had an in-law tell you your choice of game was stupid, and just Warcraft on paper, and dumbed down for dumber players who can't handle a real RPG, you haven't lived.
Lady and gentlemen.... I present to you the Edition War without Contrition, the War of the Web, the Mighty Match-up!
We're using standard edition war rules. No posts of substance. Do not read the other person's posts with comprehension. Make frequent comparison to video games, MMOs, and CCGs. Use the words "fallacy" and "straw man", incorrectly and often. Passive aggressiveness gets you extra points and asking misleading and inflammatory questions is mandatory. If you're getting tired, just declare victory and leave the thread. Wait for the buzzer... and....
One, two, three, four, I declare Edition War Five, six, seven eight, I use the web to
D&D should not return to the days of blindfolding the DM and players. No tips on encounter power? No mention of expected party roles? No true meaning of level due to different level charts or tiered classes? Please, let's not sacrifice clear, helpful rules guidelines in favour of catering to the delicate sensibilities of the few who have problems with the ascetics of anything other than what they are familiar with.
Just a quick note on the MMORPG as an insult comparison...
MMORPGs, raking in money by the dumptruck full. Many options, tons of fans across many audiences, massive resources allocated to development.
TTRPGs, dying product. Squeaking out an existence that relys on low cost. Fans fit primarily into a few small demographics. R&D budgets small, often rushed to market and patched after deployment.
You're not really making much of an argument when you compare something to a MMORPG and assume people think that means bad. Lets face it, they make the money, have the audience and the budget. We here on this board are fans of TTRPGs but lets not try to pretend none of us play MMORPGs.
Something like Tactical Shift is more magical than martial healing.
Telling someone to move over a few feet is magical now? :|
I weep for this generation.
Given the laziness and morbid obsesity amongst D&Ders, being able to convince someone to get on their feet, do some heavy exercise, and use their words to make them be healthier must seem magical.
The eye examined the new creation his... child... had made for him, and was highly impressed by the young god's craftsmanship. The thing was physically perfect in every way.
"I call you Grawlf." The eye said, bobbing up and down before the new thing.
But the new thing did not respond, Grawlf, amazing as he was, was not alive like he was. Frustrated by its immobility, the eye poured his essence into the metal form, willing it to life, yet, despite causing all the legs to move and the central platform to swivel, nothing of note occured.
He turned to Sonel, who even now floated beside him.
"Sonel, Thank you for your help on this creation. I have named it Grawlf, for all things must have names, and all things are their names. This is Grawlf as you are Sonel."
The eye paused for a moment before reaching inside of himself and sending a portion of his strength to the other god.
"I wish to reward you with this power. Please use it well. For now, I shall travel. You may join me if you wish."
The eye was frustrated that its efforts to create life were fruitless. It moved out into the universe, dragging the construction behind him as he went.
What he saw interested him. In his absence, the heavens had become filled with creatures. For a moment, the eye felt a distinct pang of jealousy. His creation of life had failed, yet others had clearly mastered the skill on their own. He eyed the creations... mindless algae and equally mindless amoebas, eating the algae without comprehension.
The eye looked upon this, and it despaired. The eye wished for children that could learn, children with whom he could eventually speak with. But these, these were not those.
He flew towards the nearest Amoeba and directed his anger and grief into it, breaking it apart into many smaller pieces. The eye stopped, stunned at the sight of the now-dead Amoeba scattered about him. He had not meant to cause such damage! Remorseful, he gathered the pieces together and stared at them for a long moment.
"I will try again." he said, arranging the pieces about him. "I will try to give life again."
He focused his power and sent it out again into the pieces, and to his delight, they began to twitch. He quickly poured more energy into them. He did not merely wish for them to live, he wished for them to grow, to learn, to adapt. His first children should be true to his own calling. They should learn from other life, for surely there would be more life, and in learning, adapt themselves to become a better being.
Soon, the amoeba-chunks floated before him, each now its own life form that looked very much like a very small amoeba, for that was all they knew.
"I call you Vokdara" he said.
Life for the Vokdara would be hard at first, the eye knew. But their ability to absorb and recapitulate features of new life they encountered would be invaluable to them, and would lead them to soon surpass the Amoebas to become a far more effective lifeform. He gave them a final directive to always fight amongst themselves, for only the best should be allowed to further enhance themselves. With reckless, if unintelligent, abandon, the Vokdara began to do just that, fighting amongst themselves, although for now none had any real advantages over any other one. The eye knew that would change.
The eye concentrated again and a giant ball of black rock appeared before him, entirely invisible against the darkness all around. He placed the Vokdara on its surface.
"I name you Vok" The eye said, staring at the black rock, "For from you will the VokDara spread."
However, for now, there was need of something to help them.
"This, here. In the darkness beyond the reach of the Orbs of Flame, here in this patch of darkness shall be their home until they are ready to leave. I must provide them a protector, one to guide the amoebas and keep them away from this spot."
The eye reached out through the fabric of the universe and beyond it and felt about before feeling his mind snag on something. With a gasp, he pulled, and flew backwards in shock as a gigantic beast appeared. Hundreds of meters long, and easily half that wide and tall, the great gray beast floated before him, bobbing up and down to the pulsing of a great tail that, if active, could easily propel it across the heavens. And yet, the beast was not finished. The eye could sense that it lacked a purpose in its brain.
The eye spoke to the beast
"I name you The Shepherd, for that is what you are. Guide the Amoebas and prevent them from ever coming here in large numbers. This is the land of your flock, the Vokdara, and you must keep them safe from all harm. When you grow old, you will teach your offspring, born from your own flesh this task, and when you die, you shall die knowing that you have served the gods."
The beast opened its great mouth and turned to fully face the eye. A glimmer of understanding appeared in the Shepherd's eye, then the whale turned and began moving across the sky towards the nearest amoebas to drive them from the protected zone of the Vokdara.
1 PP: Modify Spawn: Modify the Amoebas to become the Vokdara. The Vokdara are basically unintelligent versions of the Borg. They absorb living matter (gelatinous cube-style) and randomly (at an infrequent but not rare rate) incorporate entire systems into their own selves. The Vokdara constantly fight, so any incorporated system that does not aid them in combat in some way will be quickly removed from the population. Eventually, they will become a fearsome and deadly foe to all of existence, but for now they remain a slowly evolving menace.
1 PP: Mold Land (superior): Create the planet of Vok, home of the Vokdara.
2 PP: Spawn Creature (Superior): The Shepherd. The Shepherd is a giant whale whose brain is large enough to instinctively understand The Eye's directive to guide the Amoebas away from the homelands of the Vokdara. Although long lived, the Shepherd will eventually die, and pass on his knowledge to his son, who will be born from a small portion of the older Shepherd that breaks off and matures into a new Shepherd as the original Shepherd grows older.
Finally it's maker woke up! Sonel giggled with excitement at it watched its creator tinker with the thing they had made together, finally getting it to move.
"Grawlf Grawlf Grawlf! That's a name of a friend of Sonel's! We sh-" but Sonel was cut off as its maker flew off and broke one of those owwy things.
"Yeah yay! Break the owwy things!" Sonel cheered, and then it noticed its mak- Grawlf wasn't finished. It started to make things out of the broken pieces too. "Wow. Grawlf sure is smart!"
Sonel watched as the pieces of the owwy thing were changed into smaller looking owwy things. These owwy things started to fight each other on another one of the rocky things. Then Grawlf made the biggest thing of all. A great big long thing! It was bigger than the big owwy things, even!
"Ah, Sonel. I am not Grawlf. This is Grawlf." The eye gestured to the contraption the two gods had made together.
"My name is a secret. One I will tell you but you may tell no one else. It is..." the eye floated closer to Sonel and whispered [SECRET]Dvrgr[/SECRET].
And yet... a sudden thought struct the eye and it flew towards Grawlf, settling into the central platform and raising it up such that by looking straight 'up' from its central platform, he was looking straight at Sonel. The eight arms of Grawlf rotated about him as the eye pondered for a moment.
"No, it is better this way. Too many will ask me my name, and my name must remain secret from all that I do not trust. I shall become my creation. I shall become Grawlf."
Grawlf looked out from his new body and mentally smiled. This was how things should be.
His Maker silent for the moment, the Silent God decides that it might be best to check in on his secret world. Floating through space, the field of darkness soon passes through the wall of disguising blackness that encompasses the Shadowfell, looking over the dark but empty world. He should really try and-
A sudden noise in the otherwise silent world caught his attention. A sudden impact was heard, and a small explosion of earth was seen in the distance. Disturbed by what this could mean, the god floated towards it, only to see an amoeba struggling in a crater, letting out howls of anguish. It seemed as though the amoeba had unknowingly stumbled through the wall of darkness, and had fallen to the ground hard. Hard enough to kill. But in a universe without death, the amoeba was still very much alive, but in so much agony it couldn't do anything but cry out.
The Voice Without Sound knew this shouldn't be. Things had to have some kind of release at the end of their days, and the sound would attract other gods if too many other amoeba shared the same fate. But he couldn't give it the release of death, death was a concept the universe and the god could not comprehend. So, he decided to give it a different kind of release.
Focusing his power on the beast, it's cries soon became gurgled as it dissolved into a black slime that was neither living nor dead. The new creation soon filled the crater the amoeba had made, gurgling on occasion and lashing out with it's tentacles at nothing in particular. Not the most pleasant first thing to fill his world with, but it solved the issue. And he had to admit, he liked the way it thrashed about, as though hating the very existence it was a part of.
PP Expenditure 1PP - Modify Spawn - Create the Kraaj from amoeba - the Kraaj is a pool of undead, black ooze that despises all living things. It doesn't need to eat, sleep, or breathe, but it still attempts to devour everything it comes across. Fortunately, Kraaj are restricted to their pool and can't move around.
