Advice, one of my players temporarily became a god

[Falcos]

Hi all.

So, in my setting, the bad guy's plot was to kill the (homebrewed) god of magic, secrets, truth, and lies.

The players did not arrive in time to stop the ritual to kill the god, but I did what was in character for that god and passed the mantle of their power onto a LN party member who accepted the risks of madness.

The session ended there, and I know what effects I want this mantle of power to have mechanically on them (basically, they can give up their turns to make magic work or they can try to manipulate the weave more precisely at risk of madness or Breaking Something on a cosmic scale).

What I'd like the playground's advice on, please, is what I should describe the sensations like of holding this power?

The god in question has the portfolio of truth, lies, secrets, magic, darkness, midnight, and planning. The player is now temporarily holding all of those portfolios. What should I narrate as their experience of such?

[AntiAuthority]

The god in question has the portfolio of truth, lies, secrets, magic, darkness, midnight, and planning. The player is now temporarily holding all of those portfolios. What should I narrate as their experience of such?

I'm a little confused on how they can be both of the bolded. Do they abhor lies, love lives, does it depend on the situation or some other thing?

Anyway... I have a few ideas for the other stuff.

Secrets- They become incredibly paranoid over revealing information unless absolutely necessary, and even then, it would take extreme circumstances. For example, they know crucial information that could affect the plot or are just aware something the other party members would like to know, they don't tell them and actively hide such information. Why? Because the rest of the party "wouldn't understand what to do with it" or "they're not ready to handle this information." Only you can understand its true worth and sharing it could backfire because the party could do something to make this secret lose its value.

Magic- They begin to look for all kinds of magical trinkets and spells, searching and hoarding any information they can find on it. You have plans to use these as efficiently as possible. Any magic you do gain isn't enough, you need more magical loot, more knowledge on magic, more spells, more spells that only you are aware of...

Darkness/Midnight- You prefer the darkness and night, possibly trying to make the area as shaded/dark as possible if it's too bright. Darkness helps you conceal your precious secrets, sneak off into the dead of night to help find more resources for your plans... You can cast spells under the cover of darkness without being noticed as much. The light reveals all your secrets, they expose your plans and make you casting your spells easier to be noticed.

Planning- You have a habit of trying to force things to go your way. You have a habit of trying to turn anyone (even your own party members) into puppets to fit what, in your opinion, is the best course of action. Tying back into the Secrets and Magic part, all that information you've been hoarding were just stepping stones for you to set into motion a plan that only you (in your god-induced madness) can properly understand. On the flipside, you could be so dedicated to your plans that you refuse to do anything without having a proper idea of what to do next.

So... A chess master who hoards information and magic like a dragon hoards treasure, loves to slink off into the darkness/night to do whatever is it they're going to do because it's harder to be noticed during the night/in the dark and possibly unwilling to accept things until they fit into this character's predetermined idea of what "should" happen.

[Falcos]

I'm a little confused on how they can be both of the bolded. Do they abhor lies, love lives, does it depend on the situation or some other thing?



The main remit of most of the gods in this (homebrew) setting is that they have to choose two diametrically opposed concepts to be their "core" portfolio - for this one, truth and lies, which extends into their other thing as the God of Secrets, as they have the information they need. Lying about something is hiding it, making it secret, and that is something that this god was very very interested in knowing. Telling the truth... Well, that is a powerful weapon, with those same secrets in mind. Lies may bring a man to his knees, but the right truth may destroy a kingdom.

However, I love the rest of your input, it gives me some very good ideas for what to do with what is a very hard situation to narrate well. Thank you very much.

[Demidos]

I would suggest having the mortal be unable to use it except in very minor ways causing very major consequences, and have more things break the longer he holds the mantle, leading to a sort of time-ticking counter for the party to get the power to a friendly immortal being who can hold the power without breaking (Though I would advise some personality distortion).

Some description of how the party casters feel a few spells misfiring in minor ways (blue light instead of green, the spell also makes the grass in the area triple in size), and their highest level spells "subtly eroding" as the time goes by without a true god of magic should give the party some incentive to get the mantle passed on even without giving them actual mechanical drawbacks (the fear of losing their magic should drive them).

[icefractal]

On the sensory end:
* You know if someone is telling the true or lying, it's as obvious as a huge neon sign.
* Anything / anyone you focus on, you start learning the secrets of. You can't turn this off, at best you can stare at a rock or something which doesn't have many secrets. If you focus on someone/something with a lot of secrets, the flood of information can be overwhelming.
* You can see magic, all of it. Every spell, every remnant of a spell. A Wizard's tower would be so bright/loud everywhere it would be hard to pay attention to anything there. Even magic happening in distant places you can sense, but not comprehend.
* You can see in the dark perfectly. Bright light is a little uncomfortable and colors look "off".
* By considering a situation, you start to perceive all the possible paths that could arise from it. Not having a true god's multitasking abilities, the number of possibilities quickly becomes overwhelming when predicting more than a few steps ahead.

Some potential side effects:
* Sometimes when making a true statement, it will come out in "the voice of cosmic truth" which transcends languages and forces all listeners to accept it as true no matter how much they don't want to believe it. And is probably pretty jarring.
* You can lie perfectly, nobody can ever tell. Unless paying careful attention, you will sometimes lie reflexively for no reason.
* The area around you becomes darker the more you don't want to be noticed, including being socially uncomfortable for instance. If you really don't want to be found (as a result of being frightened / panicked for example) it becomes ultra-darkness that suppresses all senses.
* Wild magic surges in the vicinity when you lose control, like from being in pain / particularly angry / frightened / drunk / etc.

[Jay R]

What I'd like the playground's advice on, please, is what I should describe the sensations like of holding this power?

Show him the scene of Galadriel when Frodo offered her the Ring, and say, "It's like like, only much more powerful and much more intense."

[Saintheart]

On the sensory end: the character hears whispers out of nowhere now and then, partial sentences that he can't quite make out, but which invariably centre around things such as betrayal, adultery, vices, and so on. It's an aftereffect of the Secrets portfolio.

[Falcos]

These are all amazing ideas, with particular thanks to icefractal.

I've been discussing it with the player of the character who inherited the power, and they're completely down for me to completely mess up their character's mind for holding this power, so I'm probably going to include most if not all of these ideas.

Wonderful. Still open to hearing more if people have them, though. :D

[AlanBruce]

My initial reaction when reading the title was:

“Your character is temporarily a god. Roll some dice- you’re making a temporary new character while I make your god an NPC... temporarily.”

However, after a thorough reading, this is a golden opportunity for both you and the player to get immensely creative. Everyone focuses on the fancy explosive powers of being a god. Rarely is the psyche explored. And that aspect can be a lot more terrifying.

Mortals were not meant to be gods. Have the PC go through moments of psychosis even, to explain all the voices in his head. And, when the divine power is finally relinquished, have this PC become changed- not numerically, as many would be quick to point out, but a role playing aspect of his persona. Forever changed for delving into things none of us were meant to delve in.

[Falcos]

My initial reaction when reading the title was:

“Your character is temporarily a god. Roll some dice- you’re making a temporary new character while I make your god an NPC... temporarily.”

However, after a thorough reading, this is a golden opportunity for both you and the player to get immensely creative. Everyone focuses on the fancy explosive powers of being a god. Rarely is the psyche explored. And that aspect can be a lot more terrifying.

Mortals were not meant to be gods. Have the PC go through moments of psychosis even, to explain all the voices in his head. And, when the divine power is finally relinquished, have this PC become changed- not numerically, as many would be quick to point out, but a role playing aspect of his persona. Forever changed for delving into things none of us were meant to delve in.

Yeah, I was worried that the title was putting people off reading this.

I am really hoping to explore the effects that this kind of information and power would have on the human(oid) mind, with my player.

He agreed to take on the power because he's a Lawful Neutral cop, basically, and he understands "Duty" and "Responsibility", and he knew that if nobody took the power, magic would no longer function - which was unacceptable to him, in a world where things like flying cities exist.

Honestly, the fact that he took it for unselfish motives and is now doing his level best to try to keep things running with minimal disruption means that I'm feeling a lot more lenient on him in terms of "pure mind-breaking" effects of this temporary apotheosis.

But I'm not even slightly inclined to have his character eventually give it up and then say "And now you're healthy and happy forever".

Which leads to the next question - after giving up this Mantle, what effects should poor Xowhah have for the rest of his life? I've already decided that I'm going to staple permanent True Seeing and Detect Magic to the character sheet (It's the culmination of a long campaign, so I'm okay to give out rewards like that), but that's mechanical - what's the fluff effect of all of this weight on his brow, however temporarily?

[AntiAuthority]

The main remit of most of the gods in this (homebrew) setting is that they have to choose two diametrically opposed concepts to be their "core" portfolio - for this one, truth and lies, which extends into their other thing as the God of Secrets, as they have the information they need. Lying about something is hiding it, making it secret, and that is something that this god was very very interested in knowing. Telling the truth... Well, that is a powerful weapon, with those same secrets in mind. Lies may bring a man to his knees, but the right truth may destroy a kingdom.

However, I love the rest of your input, it gives me some very good ideas for what to do with what is a very hard situation to narrate well. Thank you very much.

You're welcome and... Waiting until the precise moment to reveal a devastating secret/truth lines up pretty well with hiding it from the rest of the party (if you decide to go that way). The idea sounds pretty fun to RP out.


Yeah, I was worried that the title was putting people off reading this.

I am really hoping to explore the effects that this kind of information and power would have on the human(oid) mind, with my player.

He agreed to take on the power because he's a Lawful Neutral cop, basically, and he understands "Duty" and "Responsibility", and he knew that if nobody took the power, magic would no longer function - which was unacceptable to him, in a world where things like flying cities exist.

Honestly, the fact that he took it for unselfish motives and is now doing his level best to try to keep things running with minimal disruption means that I'm feeling a lot more lenient on him in terms of "pure mind-breaking" effects of this temporary apotheosis.

But I'm not even slightly inclined to have his character eventually give it up and then say "And now you're healthy and happy forever".

Which leads to the next question - after giving up this Mantle, what effects should poor Xowhah have for the rest of his life? I've already decided that I'm going to staple permanent True Seeing and Detect Magic to the character sheet (It's the culmination of a long campaign, so I'm okay to give out rewards like that), but that's mechanical - what's the fluff effect of all of this weight on his brow, however temporarily?

Well... There are a few ways this experience can change the character, depending on the tone. I'm sure there are others, but these two extremes were the only ones I could think of at the moment.

1.) They become able to see the bigger picture and it humbles them. They realize that mortals fighting and squabbling among each other is a waste of their time and energy. They come to appreciate being a mortal, as they no longer have to worry about the cosmic balance on a daily basis. Basically more idealistic.

2.) They find it harder to empathize with people and find mortal life... Boring or at least, duller than it was before they had a cosmic mind. Best comparison I could think of is, it'd be like an elderly person with a great amount of knowledge trying to have a mature conversation with (fairly intelligent) animals and realizing that almost no one is on your mental level in your everday life. All the secrets and wonders of the world are just... Trivial after having been a god of secrets, and it feels like everything is just going downhill from there. Basically, "Been there, done that, everything else is just boring in comparison... And trying to explain this to mortals is sort of impossible." More cynical than the first.

[the_david]

1. Assuming the dead god has a chance to come back in some form, his rivals show up to kill the inexperienced god. Mainly because he knows all their secrets.

2. Or not, because he is the god of secrets. He would see them coming from lightyears away.

3. He instantly knows all the secrets of his party members. Ask your players what he should know.

Edit:

4. Something like this. (https://youtu.be/fp_-5kXw_9g) Secrets become known all around the universe. Truths are forgotten. You can basically retcon the history of your world.