GLOG Hack: Godkillers

 At last, friends, I do believe it is time. I've been working on this hack on and off for roughly eight months, ever since I first joined the GLOG community, and it has evolved massively from the scope I had originally planned. And the scariest thing is that it's still going upwards. But I'll talk about my plans afterwards. Right now, I present my magnum opus, the big kahuna: Godkillers!

CLICK FOR DOC

Featuring: 

• The best dice, the d12.
• Post level 4 progression because you're gonna kill some Gods, kid.
• A generally higher power level than most GLOG hacks, though still very deadly.
• A word-based magic system that allows absolute freedom to cast whatever the hell you want.
• Universal Templates: one level classes allowing for even more customisation.
• I have playtested this a lot and am still not sure how balanced most of this is.
• So many classes. Like genuinely, I look at this and wonder when I found the time to write all this.
• An ancestry table and an alternate advanced ancestry system.
• Probably a bunch I forgot to talk about. Go read it and find the rest.

Plans for the future:

• A hirelings and retainers system.
• More Ancestries and Classes.
• A domain system.
• Weapon and armor crafting.
• Alchemy and potion making.
• Tier 3: Godkiller.
• Psionic and Magictech Classes.
• Vehicle rules (Ships, Spaceships, Horses)
• Corruptions (I've already finished two but I want a few more before I do a release)
• Better monster rules and a Bestiary of some kind.
• Some dungeons and adventures specifically for the system.
• Magic items.

As you can see, there is still a lot I want to do, but I am happy with what I've thrown together so far. Quite a few playtests have been done, but far more are definitely necessary. Please, please tell me your thoughts, whether through the comments or discord DMs. Godspeed, friends, and await more content coming soon!

Pandaemonium Playtest Release: Adventures in the Circles of Hell

 Stuff is hectic right now, isn't it? Pandemics really have made the world slightly boring. Well, worry not, for I am here to remind you that at least you don't live in Hell itself! Pandaemonium is an RPG set in the Infinite Rings of Hell, where all of your characters are horrible people and power is all that matters. I don't have the time right now to finish fleshing out the rules, but the system itself has been finished and playable for quite a while now, so I decided to release it so that people could feed my ego. 

CLICK HERE FOR THE PDF

Featuring:

• In-depth Demon creation mechanics
• Lots of d6s
• Faction-based advancement
• Betrayals and backstabbing
• Easy to build backgrounds

Please, feel free to praise me! And also give criticism where necessary. While I may not be in a position to rewrite right now, it will certainly be taken into account when I get things up and running again. And please, roll up your Demonsona and tell about them. Well, that's me done for a bit! Steal liberally and unapologetically, my friends, and godspeed to you all!

Eidomon: Slightly Updated Rules for Legallydistinctémon

All these new fads, and here I am, jumping on as many bandwagons as possible. This time the GLOG discord has decided to turn its corrupting gaze towards Pokémon, creating Legallydistinctémon like Balor of the Evil Eye gazing upon another hapless victim. But as more people have written on it, the tone of it all has become quite different, I think, and thus for my first order of business I will suggest a new name: Eidomon. Besides being amazing wordplay, the reason for this specific choice will become clear as this post continues. Click here for the original post.

However, so far there has been one rather large issue with the Eidomon idea: we don’t actually have rules. Well, that’s not entirely true. SunderedWorldDM took a very good stab at it, but there are a few changes I’m going to make to that system. So, here we go:

Throughout the ages, Eidomon have existed alongside the civilisations of the world as allies, enemies and food in equal measure. Created through the collective consciousness and beliefs of the world, they are dreams given physical form. For years, we have observed them, but it was not until the First Binder brought the Eidomon named Ghandra into his spirit that we discovered their true potential.

RULES

You play as an Eidomon Binder, someone who has learned how to bring the essence of an Eidomon into their metaphysical form and summon them at will. Each Eidomon in existence has a level (LVL) and a number of power dice (PD) equal to their level. PD are d4s. Each Eidomon has a number of Moves equal to their level as well. Moves are essentially spells, and are unique to each Eidomon. To use a Move, you decide how many PD you wish to invest. [dice] is the number of dice you invest, [sum] is the total of their results. If you roll a 1-2, the PD returns to your pool. If you roll a 3-4, the PD is lost for the duration of the battle.

Being part of your very soul, Eidomon do not have separate HP. Instead, the Binder has one HP pool, equal to the total level of the team multiplied by four. Any hit against an Eidomon reduces the Binder’s HP. Hits are determined by a d20 roll. To hit, you must roll a ten or over. Your roll is reduced by the level of the opposing Eidomon, and you may spend PD to add [sum] to this roll. You lose a battle if your HP reaches zero. If you ever take 1/6th of your HP in a single turn, the Eidomon you currently have on the field is unusable for the rest of the battle. The amount of Eidomon you can have on the field is determined by the type of battle (single, double, etc.). Initiative is determined by 1d20+LVL for each Eidomon, going in order from highest to lowest. Ties are broken by LVL or Rank. Each turn, the Binder may take an action and move, and so may each of their Eidomon.

After winning a battle, you gain half the total level of the opposing team in Ranks, which you can distribute to any Eidomon in your possession. Each LVL costs 10 Ranks. Every Eidomon evolves at LVL 5. An evolved Eidomon does not gain extra PD (your PD remains at 4), however each LVL one of your PD becomes a d6 until all four of them have been stepped up. You still gain extra Moves. An Eidomon who reaches LVL9 may enter Burst Mode, where for a single turn every single one of their PD will roll maximum value, however they will all be burnt on use. You take 3 damage for each dice burnt this way.

Unbound Eidomon have HP equal to their LVL x 10, and a maximum of four moves. Catching an Eidomon requires a 1d20 roll with a target number of the Eidomon’s HP + their LVL. Eidomon who are asleep or incapacitated do not gain their LVL as a bonus.

To begin as an Eidomon Binder, roll a team on this generator, give them names and one Move each. You begin with 18 Ranks to distribute as you wish among your Eidomon. Here are my starting Eidomon:

Cobroxin: LVL1 R2

Maddening Fangs: Deal 1 damage per round for [sum/2] rounds. Impose an extra [dice] penalty on the enemy’s to-hit roll for the same duration.

A massive green snake, the size of a double decker bus. It is said that its venom sends even the most sane person to pure insanity. Evolves into Jormungacid, a frilled snake as large as a double decker aeroplane. Cobroxin lives in the deep trenches of the ocean.

Gravursa: LVL1 R0

Graviton Surge: Bind [dice] targets to the ground for [dice] rounds, preventing movement entirely.

A pastel blue Koala, covered in glowing runes. Trees around it buckle under the weight of its gravitational field, resulting in large destruction wherever it rests. It evolves into Singularityrant, a black bear that sucks in matter around it, functioning as a living black hole.

Bullreas: LVL1 R1

Glacial Charge: Deal [sum] damage and push the enemy back by [dice]x10 feet.

A stark white oxen that lives on the surface of lakes, freezing the ground underneath it just by walking on it. Evolves into Avalox, an Eidomon so cold that it creates blizzards wherever it walks. A charging herd of Avalox and Bullreas is frequently mistaken for rapid glacier movement.

Kleti: LVL1 R2

Freezing Touch: Deal [sum] damage and prevent the opponent from using 1 PD next turn.

A big white yeti, just a bit taller than an average human. They are known for occupying abandoned mountain towns to simulate human society. Kleti evolves into Sasquake, a hulking snow white monstrosity known to hang on the side of mountain passes and drop onto unsuspecting prey, causing tremors as they land.

Ambrex: LVL2 R0

Light: Shed light in a 30ft radius for [dice] hours.

Telekinesis: Move [sum] kg of material anywhere within [dice x 10] kg.

A sleeping dinosaur, trapped in amber. Its latent psychic energy allows it to float, functioning as very useful lights in dark caves. It evolves into Crystasaur, a living psychic crystal formation. Multiple Crystasaurs in one place form psychic supercomputers that give guidance to nearby villagers as to how to improve their lives.

Wyrkagan: LVL1 R3

Fire Breath: Deal [sum] damage in a 30ft cone.

A seeming wingless dragon, like a large four-legged reptile. They do, in fact, have many transparent, insect-like wings that create an infamously ear-piercing buzzing sound as they fly. The record for the most wings found on a Wyrkagan is 200, 100 on each side. It has a very complicated evolution process, turning into one of ten different types of Dracovire. There have also been reports that Wyrkagan are used in the ritual to summon the Divine Eidomon Tiamadon.

Design Notes:

The idea of one HP pool was done to encourage Eidomon switching and also just to differentiate from Pokemon in some degree. This does, however, present some issues in terms of the sheer number of Eidomon you have. As I wrote this I was wondering if perhaps reducing your maximum number to 4 would work better for these rules.

Vayra Asks...

 I'm back-ish. After sickness and stress taking over for a while, we hope I can start uploading regularly again. Here's a few questions from Vayra, who you may remember from a review I did a few months back (weekly reviews, hah). I have answered to the best of my ability.

1) What class knows the most martial arts? Are they real martial arts like kung fu, or made up ones like krav maga?

For Godkillers, take the Brawler universal template. With that, you may use your fists as deadly weapons and take any other class with it. Flavour it however you want. For Pandaemonium, I haven’t implemented any yet, no.

2) Can I start out having already made a deal with the devil or do I have to do that in game?

Please do both. Especially in Pandaemonium. Kind of the whole point of that system.

3) Do you want me to write an 8-page backstory? Can I write an 8-page backstory, if I want to? If I write something down in it like I'm the timelost princess of the brass city and the daughter of the sun and I commanded legions in the Hell War but was betrayed by my father's vizier but I don't know that, or that I'm elf conan and cooler than everyone else, will that be true?

I like long backstories, but not if they are overly self-indulgent. For my more 5e-ish campaigns, at least a page of backstory for me to pull from and ruin your life with is a requirement. It allows me to bring your character in and let you do your own worldbuilding and be more involved in the process. For GLOG and OSR games, write long backstories at your own risk. You had better write three or four, just in case. I hold nothing back.

4) If I eat someone's heart, will I gain their powers? What about their brain?

No clue, but I am 100% willing to find out what happens if you do. I’d say it very much depends on the source of the organ. Though I do have an entire class based around eating organs to gain power.

5) These classes are boring, can I be one from somewhere else? What about from a different system entirely?

Not at the start. I need to playtest. But for the long haul, I’m entirely fine with it as long as it's cool and doesn’t clash with the tone of the game. There is, however, only so much conversion I’m willing to do for you.

6) If I make a sword, which one of us gets to name it?

You do, with input and approval from me. It’ll hurt all the more when you die and I get to take it all from you, or one of your companions takes it and carries on your legacy. I live on drama.

7) Am I allowed to kill the other player characters? What would I have to do to be allowed to? Do I win if I kill them all? Actually, how do I win in general?

Now this is very dependent on what kind of game I’m running. For nearly everything, I want you to talk to both me and the player in question to make sure everyone is on board. You win if you complete your character’s final goal. If that is killing the rest of the party, then brilliant. However, if we’re playing Pandaemonium, stab everyone in the back if it means getting more power. Every person for themselves in Hell.

8) What language stands in for 'Common'? Or what are we all talking to each other in? Like the party, mostly, but also everyone else?

In Godkillers, it's the language of the Kings, a version of the language spoken by the Author in the beginning of the world. In the Barrierlands specifically, it’s a dialect of Infernal due to millions of years spent under the rule of demons. In Pandaemonium, it’s the Foul Tongue, first spewed from the lips of Gharakha of the Endless Pit to allow his eternal armies of monstrosities to communicate.

9) How do I learn how to talk to rocks? No not once a day just, like, normally?

Be a dwarf, a wizard or learn a specific miracle.

10) Which kinds of wizards get to serve kings and live in towers and shit and which ones are run out of town or stoned to death in the streets? Can I be both? At the same time?

Wizards who keep their mouths shut get to serve kings. Wizards who talk too much might start speaking in Truespeech and raze a town or two. You cannot be both. Sorcerers get to be both, but they’re all gone.

GLOG Class: The Knight-Errant

 This is an idea I’ve wanted to do for a long time now. The idea of the brave knight on a quest is such a powerful image to me still, even as I grow older and further away from the fairytales of youth. So when the idea of + templates was raised to me, I jumped on the opportunity. Essentially, + templates are extra abilities that build upon what you already have, unlocked when you complete an in-world goal. This will hopefully encourage players to engage with the world more. Maybe. It could also just annoy some of the more power-gamer-y types.

Anyway, without further ado, here it is!

Knight by Johannes Voss

Knight-Errant

Starting Equipment: A Faithful Horse, Heavy Armour, Crested Shield, Sword Given To You By Your Old Master

Skills: 1. Courtship, 2. Chivalry, 3. Dueling

A: Knightly Quest, Crest [+Title]

B: Challenge [+Slayer of Legends], Code of Honour

C: Squire [+Warband]

D: Whosoever Lifts This Sword [+Divine Right of Kings]

A: Knightly Quest

A Knight-Errant is defined by the Quest they embark upon. Every Knight-Errant rolls for a Quest or discusses one with their GM. This is always some deed of immense honour and glory, and completing it successfully will bring much respect to your family and your name. Begin play with a strange magical item that, while slightly obfuscated in its exact use, will help you complete your quest, whether by leading you to the location of what you’re looking for or giving obscure riddles as to the true nature of your quest.

You may not ignore your Quest for more than a month at once, or you lose all Knight-Errant Templates. While you are working towards your Quest, there will always be a way to escape any bad situation. Upon completing your Quest, you will receive another one at some point in the next 1d4 years through magical or divine means.

A: Crest

Your shield is marked with the crest of your house or homeland, a reminder of where you set out from, though it is far away now. While wearing a shield with your crest on it, you have advantage on checks against being frightened or mind controlled, and have +1 Defence. You will be given an audience in any court you go to, though they may not necessarily like you.

+Title

Prerequisite: Complete a Knightly Quest

You are far more than merely a normal knight-errant now. Through your deeds, your name has become known throughout the land. Gain a title appropriate to what you have done, or whatever sounds cool (e.g. a Knight who found the Crystal Rose of Telgalan would become known as the Knight of Roses). You are immune to being frightened or mind controlled. Any enemy that knows of your reputation rolls morale checks with disadvantage. You will be given audience by anyone you ask it of, and most will respect your opinion on matters of war and battle. Once per adventure, you may pull off an unreasonably heroic feat and survive the process, no matter how improbable. If you ever sacrifice yourself for a cause you believe in, that cause will gain divine protection.

B: Challenge

You may at any point challenge another creature to a duel. In combat, they must save vs. compulsion or be forced to attack you and only you, though you must do the same. The duel is broken if any other creature intervenes in the fight. Outside, you may challenge anyone that can hear you. They must save vs. compulsion or agree to it. You must then decide amongst yourselves a time and place, and terms as to what happens when either of you win. A sufficiently wealthy person may send a proxy to fight in their place.

+Slayer of Legends

Prerequisite: Kill an opponent of mythical proportions in one-on-one combat.

Any normal creature you challenge to a fight now has a 3 in 6 chance of running away in fear at your reputation. You may now challenge people across any distance, and they will receive news of your challenge within 1d3 weeks. This can include kings, gods, dragons or anything of significant enough power. They will accept your challenge unless they have a significant reason to refuse.

B: Code of Honour

Name three things that you hold as evil and dishonourable (e.g. lying, consorting with demons). You can always tell when someone is engaging in those activities. You deal +1 damage to anyone you view as evil in reference to these three tenets. If you ever break one of your own tenets, you lose any + templates you may have and must go on a quest of atonement to regain your honour.

C: Squire

You have a loyal squire by your side, who will assist you in your Knightly Quest. They are two levels below you, and have templates in a martial class of your choice. You may decide their personality and backstory with your Gamemaster. They seek to learn from your experiences, and will assist you in any way they can. However, they may still leave you if they are mistreated. After six years of training from you or after they gain their last template in a martial class, they gain a level in Knight-Errant and go on their own Knightly Quest.

+Warband

Prerequisite: Gain a Title and be granted land by a lord.

Once per month, you may call together a group of up to [Level x 10] Knights to help you in a single task, such as storming a castle or grounding a dragon. These knights are old friends and acquaintances of yours. They will only stay with you for up to a week, and only for the duration of one specific task, after which they disband.

D: Whosoever Lifts This Sword

Gain a sword of immense magical power, rolling on the table below for its magical properties or deciding an appropriate ability with your GM. Once per adventure, you may miraculously survive a killing blow, instead dropping to 1 HP.

+Divine Right of Kings

Prerequisite: Claim the throne you were fated for.

You are the ruler of a prosperous, powerful kingdom. You may retire your character at any point and your character will go down in history as a good ruler, and the people will forever speak your name in reverence.

1d12	Sword Property
1	You may point your sword at a demon and cause them save vs. banishment or be forced back to their home plane.
2	You can instantly kill any being of 1 HD or lower, and cannot be harmed by them.
3	Woodland animals recognise you as a friend, and will follow your orders as their ruler. You can speak to and understand woodland animals.
4	You cannot be hurt by fire or lava. You may ignite yourself to impart an extra 1d6 fire damage on a hit.
5	You may fly and control the direction and strength of the wind.
6	You may raise the corpses of those you kill as 1 HD servants. You may have up to twice your Knight-Errant templates of undead under your control at one time.
7	You may mark any two doors with your blade. Opening one will lead out into the other. Only the one who holds the sword may use this effect. To everyone else the doors function normally.
8	You may freeze any water your blade touches, and are immune to all cold effects. You do not slip on ice, and anyone hit by your blade has their movement halved.
9	Your blade glows as a bright light, and you may shine it in the eyes of your enemies, forcing them to save vs. blindness or be blinded for 1d6 rounds. If they succeed, they are immune to this effect until the next day. You deal an extra 1d6 damage to anyone who violates your code of honour, and also to undead and demons (this does not stack if they are both).
10	Your sword may act on its own, flying out of your hands and attacking whoever you direct it towards. You may do this for [Knight-Errant templates x 2] rounds per day. It may also do this out of combat with no limit, though it cannot attack without using a round.
11	While standing in shadows, you are invisible to everything except high-level magic. You may teleport from one set of shadows to another you can see.
12	You cannot bleed, and cannot suffer from injuries (you still take damage, but there is no physical effect until you actually die). You cannot be hurt by projectiles, only melee weapons.

1d10	Knightly Quest
1	Kill the tyrannical red dragon Termithraviax of Bloodpeak Mountain.
2	Find the Crystal Rose of Telgalan by completing the Trials of the Forest Kings.
3	Reclaim the Throne of Silence from the giants who wrongfully claim it.
4	Find the Ocean Grail of the Coral God, Manifil.
5	Defeat each of the Manifold Knights in single combat.
6	Travel to the City of Ravens and entreat the Lady of Black Feathers to give you the Falling Star Rite.
7	Reach the end of the Time Spiral at the End of the World.
8	Return the Lich Jewel to its rightful place atop the Bonewall.
9	Slay the King of the Insect Hordes and bring back his mandibles.
10	Find the cure for the Heart-binding Curse.

Ever Deeper

 It is spoken of in the Grand Archives of the Timecentred Capital, of the Deep and its beginnings Above us. Before Time, existed the Stars, tiny points of Light in the Deep that took comfort in its embrace. Then one, whose name is lost to time, fell from the Deep into the world, no longer satisfied with the peace that immortality brought him. He wished for power, for worship, and so shone his Light upon the world, creating Time and Mortality. From the Pit, he dragged Man from their sleepless dreams and there they marched upon the Demons that resided in the World, their timelessness stolen by the Light.

For years beyond measure, the wars between Man and Demon raged, until the Star Who Fell committed the Second Sin. He created the First King of Man, Varchic, who took upon himself the Light and bested the Demon Knight Sin’Jakhta in combat, stealing from the Demons the Rite of the Sea. With it, he befouled the World by raising up Land, a cruel mockery of the Deep in the Light’s image. The Demons, nearly extinct, fled into the Oceans, away from the Light, where the Deep could once again restore their immortality. The First Demon, Trelmar’ga, allowed their escape through his sacrifice, and with his dying breath spoke of the Ocean Child who would rise and deliver the Demons back to their ancestral home on the Surface.

And so, the Demons rescinded from the Light, and Man forgot their existence as they basked in the fruits of the Light, unknowing that they too had lost their undying lives in exchange for a falsehood created by the Church of the Star and Varchic himself. The world itself trembles as the Children of Varchic raise more and more Land with the Rite of the Sea. The Church, unsatisfied with that which they have stolen, prepare to march against the Demon King of the Undersea. The Demons await the birth of the Ocean Child to be returned.

Some Quotes from the Conversation that Spawned this:

“You will never "know" the road until you accept that you cannot know it, that it is DEEP.

This is indeed the way of the DEEP, fellow child of Trelmar'ga

The road is ever-winding.”

“The DEEP is below, the DEEP is above, the DEEP is about

The Ocean Child will rise, and Land shall be struck down

the DEEP shall be all once more.”

“The power of the LIGHT is in its finitude, you say, and then with the next breath say that it can overcome the infinite. Even the basics of all things escape your puerile thought.

Upon the sacrifice of the God-Emperor Trelmar'ga, we have been infinite and endarkened.

The DEEP demands that you hear its bells, loud and clear, each passing moment it signals that your life is just a reflection of a reflection, until you are a mere husk of yourself.

That which is finite is flawed.

That which is infinite may strive to remove its flaws.”

“The LIGHT's heat shall boil your depths and remove your DEEP.

And you shall be exposed for what you are, creatures.”

“Fool! For it is exactly the above that first cast it's LIGHT down to the PIT from whence Varchic rose to bless us with the stability of land!

The LIGHT pierces both soul and darkness. It covers the worlds beyond and the Heavens above.”

“You stand on shifting sands heretics. We Men of God stand upon the Rock and bask in the Light.

The Land is our bastion, and it will increase ever onward.

The DEEP offers lies and darkness. It reveals nothing; it teaches nothing; it produces nothing.

You die eternally in vain.

When you lose your bastion in meaning and trip down to the deep will only then you truly see the foolishness of the path you've chosen?”

“I know well my place, Child of Varchic

my abomination is beautiful in the darkness.

Revelation, an abject falsehood. True knowledge is not revealed by some wish-washy power, but is sought for, strived for, and approached by effort in the voids of the DEEP.”

“The DEEP takes your soul every day, another nugget for the beast's eternal dining table, but it cannot do this without your trust. The DEEP knows what you want, it demands that you believe that its offer is the most pleasurable, wonderful and earth-shattering to your soul;

It's infinity can and will be cut short, for its evil and chaos must be stopped.

It is the LIGHT who shall do it.”

“Seek thee not the warm blanket of the Ocean and the DEEP, where all things are peaceful?

Peaceful until Varchic came, indeed.”

“Varchic is Man, the greatest form given by the Light. And Man, as the servant of the Light, alongside the Stars themselves, will pierce and destroy the DEEP.”

“Never have we been meant for something limitless and formless like the deep. That is but poison for men. We put our faith in things finite, and thus find stability.”

I will most likely write some more about this setting in the future. For further reading, here are some other blogposts about the DEEP and the LIGHT:

https://steppedonad4.blogspot.com/2020/11/light-land.html

https://coloursofpentagrams.blogspot.com/2020/11/of-sea-and-creation.html