Warhammer Settlement Builder

Because I needed another system to work on. 


Warhammer Settlement Builder
This is intended to provide some extra depth for Warhammer games so players can run a village or settlement in the same fashion as companies in Reign or houses in Song of Ice and Fire. 
1.       Roll 5d6 for each of the village stats: Size, Law, Government, Health, Land, Comforts, Troops, Trade, Wealth, Industry, Weird.
2.       Roll for location
3.       Roll for founding.
4.       Roll for number of historical events.
5.       Roll for each historical event. 
6.       Add 1d6 to one stat for each player.
7.       Spend the stat points to buy village upgrades for those stats that do that.
8.       Each month the leader of the village (the Government character, see below) must make an Intelligence + Leadership or Tradecraft plus relevant specialties. 

a.       Difficulty dice depends on the events of the month.  Plagues and harsh winters are 2-3 difficulty dice, while the height of a bounteous fall may be no difficulty dice.  Standard is 1 difficulty die.

                                                               i.      Poor village stats can add misfortune dice to these rolls. 

b.      Each success adds one to one of the stats of the village leader’s (aka the Government character’s) choice. 

c.       Each failure subtracts one from a stat of the village leader’s choice.

d.      Boons mean one of the following, as determined by the village leader: 

                                                               i.       One Boon: All characters earn 25 sp

                                                             ii.      Two Boons:  The party tension meter goes down by 1.

                                                            iii.      Three Boons: All characters earn 1 gp

                                                           iv.      Four Boons: All characters get an additional advance. 

e.      Banes  mean one of the following, as determined by the GM:

                                                               i.      One Bane: All characters lose 25 sp.  If they cannot pay it the player begins the next adventure with 1 stress or fatigue.

                                                             ii.      Two Banes: Players begin the adventure with 1 stress or fatigue. 

                                                            iii.      Three Banes: Party tension meter goes up by 1. 

                                                           iv.      Four Boons: Size of the settlement decreases by 1. 

f.        Chaos stars mean something terrible has befallen the town (as determined by the GM). These events should generally be dealt with during an adventure.  Some suggestions:

                                                               i.      Skaven Invasion: -5 Size, -5 Health, +5 Weird due to all the disease and warpstone and it gets worse if the players don’t stop it. 

                                                             ii.      Chaos Cult investation: --5 Health, -5 Law, -5 Government, +10 Weird, stop them before they pervert everything.

                                                            iii.      Witch Hunter comes to town looking for heretics that don’t exist. +5 Government, -5 Law, -5 Health

g.       Sigmar’s hammer means something wonderful has happened in the town (as determined by GM).

                                                               i.      A miracle occurs, bringing the faithful of Sigmar in droves to the settlement.  +5 Size, +5 Troops

                                                             ii.      A new mineral vein is found near the village.  +10 Wealth

9.       Each player should choose a profession during character creation that focuses on one of the city stats, except Size, with no two characters choosing the same stat.  These characters should have some part in the power structure of the settlement involving that stat, such as a soldier being part of the Troops or a rat catcher being involved in maintaining the Health of the city.  These characters should have some control over the resources of that stat.  The most important stats  for characters are Government, Law, Wealth, and Troops.   
10.   Characters created as part of a settlement can opt to have 2 fewer character creation points to begin with equipment according to that issues by their stat (such as the Law character having equipment appropriate to a guardsman) or 1 gp per 10 points of Wealth the settlement has. 
11.   If during play a contest has to be made using a village stat, such as seeing if the village is healthy enough to survive a plague, round the stat down and roll that number of characteristic dice plus any fortune dice for upgrades or player action, misfortune dice for recent events or bad luck, and difficulty dice as determined by the GM. 

Location

What sort of terrain the settlement is in.  This is just a vague descriptor and does not dictate how players spend their points in land.  A forest can still exist in farmland and a mountain settlement that buys River land is just not on a major trade river. 

Roll 2d6 for Location:

2: Tundra: -10 Size, +25 Land, -10 Health, +5 Comforts

3: Oceanside:  +5 Size, +5 Health, +20 Trade, +5 Wealth, -15 Law, -10 Land

4: Lakeside: +5 Size, +5 Health, +5 Trade, -5 Law, -10 Land

5: Riverside:  +10 Trade,+5 Industry, -5 Law

6: Forest: +5 Industry, +5 Land, +5 Comforts, -5 Trade

7: Farmland: +5 Industry, +10 Land, +10 Size, +5 Health, -10 Wealth, -10 Defenses

8: Hills: +10 Industry, +5 Defenses, -5 Comforts,

9: Mountains: +20 Industry, +10 Defenses, -10 Size, -10 Land

10: Major Trade Route: +20 Trade, +10 Wealth, +10 Comforts, -10 Law, -5 Government, -10 Land, -5 Health

11: Desert: +5 Trade, -10 Health, +20 Land, -5 Size

12: Cursed Land: +25 Weird, +5 Trade, +5 Wealth, -10 Size, -5 Law, -5 Government, -5 Health

Stats

Size

The size of the settlement.  This goes up and down as people leave the village, die, move to the village, or are born.  Size is effectively the hit points of the village; if the village is attacked and the civilian population is reduced Size is reduced accordingly. 

·         1-5: Some people who happen to leave near each other. Level x5 in people, +2 fortune dice in dealing with locals (everyone knows everyone), +15 Law, +15 Health, +15 Government, -15 Industry, -15 Trade, -15 Wealth

·         6-10: A hamlet. Level x10 in people, +1 fortune die in dealing with locals, +10 Law, +10 Health, +10 Government, -10 Industry, -10 Trade, -10 Wealth

·         11-15: A village. Level x15 in people, +5 Law, +5 Health, +5 Government, -5 Industry, -5 Trade, -5 Wealth

·         16-20: A town. Level x20 in people

·         21-25: A large town. Level x30 in people

·         26-30: A really large town. Level x40 in people, -5 Law, -5 Health, -5 Government, +5 Industry, +5 Trade, +5 Wealth

·         31-40: A city. Level x50 in people, -10 Law, -10 Health, -10 Government, +10 Industry, +10 Trade, +10 Wealth

·         41-50: A large city. Level x75 in people, -15 Law, -15 Health, -15 Government, +15 Industry, +15 Trade, +15 Wealth

·         51+: A major city. Level x100 in people, -20 Law, -20 Health, -20 Government, +20 Industry, +20 Trade, +20 Wealth

Law

How law abiding the town is.  The higher this rating, the more the general populace obeys the law and the more power the local constabulary has in terms of manpower.  Constables are assumed to have leather armor and hand weapons unless otherwise equipped. 

·         1-10: Lawless: +2 misfortune dice on any contest involving social interactions about enforcing the law, no police of note, +2 misfortune dice on maintenance checks

·         11-20: Rough: +1 misfortune dice on any contest involving social interactions about enforcing the law, a handful of constables, +1 misfortune dice on maintenance checks

·         21-30: Average: A sheriff and a squad of constables. (can be fielded as a single unit of trained light infantry per 20 points of Size if needed)

·         31-40: Lawful: +1 fortune dice on any contest involving social interactions about enforcing the law, a sheriff with a larger dedicated team of constables  (can be fielded as two units of trained light infantry per 20 points of Size if the settlement is under attack), +1 fortune dice on maintenance checks

·         41-50: Very Orderly: +2 fortune dice on any contest involving social interactions about enforcing the law, a sheriff with a large dedicated team of constables  (can be fielded as two units of trained light infantry per 20 points of Size if the settlement is under attack), +2 fortune dice on maintenance checks

·         51+: Just Society:  +2 fortune dice on any contest involving social interactions about enforcing the law, a sheriff with a large dedicated team of constables, bailiffs, and thief-takers  (can be fielded as two units of veteran light infantry per 20 points of Size if the settlement is under attack), +3 fortune dice on maintenance checks

Suggested Professions: Agent, Baliff, Bounty Hunter, Burgher, Roadwarden, Scribe, Watchman

Law Upgrades

·         Stocks: 5 – Can be used to hold criminals. 

o   +1 fortune die to attempts to keep order in the city. 

o   +1 misfortune die if you want to keep the criminals safe or not get the public stirred up by their presence. 

·         Jail: 10 – Can be used to hold criminals. 

o   +2 fortune die to attempts to keep order in the city.  Does not stack with the dice from stocks. 

·         Guard House: 10 – Gives the guard a place to rest, recuperate, and store their gear. 

o   +2 fortune dice to any defensive Law rolls made to resist attacks on the constabulary.

·         Judge: 10 – An Imperially appointed judge who can rule on matters of high and low law, including nobles.  Requires Courthouse. 

o   +1 fortune die to Intimidate checks when backed by the power of the judge. 

·         Local Contacts Network: 10 – An extensive network of local snitches and stool pigeon to help the guard find out about local crime.   

o   +1 fortune die to investigate crimes. 

·         Extra Constables: 10 – The settlement can field another unit of light infantry of the same experience level as the base units for the settlement’s law level.  Requires Guard House. 

·         Well Equipped: 5 – The guard is equipped with mail shirts, crossbows, and a healing draughts each plus other gear worth 1 gp or less as needed. 

·         Very Well Equipped: 10 – The guard is equipped with pistols, chainmail, healing draughts, and other gear worth 5 gp or less. 

·         Mounted: 15 – All members of the guard have horses.  Requires Guard House. 

·         Heavy Infantry Upgrade: 15 – All members of the guard have heavy armor, shields, and the training to use them.  This gear is usually stored at the guard barracks as it is cumbersome.  All guard units are treated a heavy infantry if they are fielded as military units.  Requires Guard House. 

·         Courthouse: 15 – The guard has a central house of justice where court cases are decided. 

o   +2 fortune dice to attempts to keep order in the city and +1 fortune die to monthly maintenance checks. 

Soul of a Nation Background

So I'm working on a novel of underfunded government agents wielding historical relics of mystic import trying to stop evil corporate ritualists trying to kill the spirit of America.  As I am a game designer who wants a cohesive world backing this all up, I've written out the beginnings of a world design doc to lay out how the world functions. 

Soul of a Nation

Background

The power of a nation is not only in its armies, its economy, its diplomats, and its territory.  It is also in the mystic power the nation controls.  The British did not colonize North America just for land and resources, but for the vast magical powers contained in the ancient forests and timeless mountains of that land to prop up their failing occult cold war with France.  Ever since the death of John Dee, the immortal Saint Comte-Germaine had insured that France was the growing power in the occult world, a position it would maintain until the Society of Thule declared war on it in the 20^th century, but we get ahead of ourselves. 

Magic power is all around us in places, items, and people.  It can be harness by those who know how and have the talent for it, but such knowledge is jealously guarded and the talent rare.  While such magicians are few on the ground, raw magic power is instead common.  Any great relic of history or natural wonder collects mystic energy over time, and while only a true magician can access the full power of such energy anyone can use the more basic aspects, assuming they know how.  Such items can exhibit supernatural powers tied to the history of the item, the nature of the wonder, etc such as a gun that killed a President being especially effective at doing so again after absorbing centuries of macabre interest from historians, common people, etc. 

These accidental magical artifacts, produced by nature or accidents of history, are not nearly as powerful as purposefully created artifacts.  But such things are difficult, expensive, and time consuming.  They are often the work of nations over generations, and so such nations expect some return on their investment.  Thus has evolved the network of monuments, statues, and cities that create complex occult defense networks for nations.  From Stonehenge and the Pyramids to modern day structures like the Washington Memorial and Mount Rushmore, these mighty constructions of power deflect hostile spells, redirect scrying, and make life generally difficult for any magical attacks on the nation and its people.  From the deflection of the Tunguska Blast to the inability of the chupacabra to make long term territory gains in the southwest, the United States has been defended from occult attack for centuries by a combination of monuments, natural wonders, and the efforts of a scant few agents of government. 

The emphasis on such structures and defenses have ebbed and flowed over time, always out of sight of the populace for fear of causing panic.  The latter half of the 19^th and early 20^th century saw a vast increase in attention to occult defense in the United States in response to the previously unparalleled arcane power of the Native American tribes who resisted the settlement of the American West.  It was carried out in haphazard fashion by the War Department, most of which did not believe in the value of such efforts except for the small handful of agents in the Occult Services division.  This lasted until the creation of the National Park Service by President Theodore Roosevelt.  While the creation of the National Parks was depicted as an attempt to protect the natural beauty and important historic relics of America, in fact it was meant as a body of caretakers to ensure the defense of the various occult defense sights of the nation.  The hearted of their operation became the Smithsonian Institute, the largest collection of items of occult power in the world outside the Vatican, all protected by a city that had arcane energies laid into its very streets: Washington, D.C. 

Attention to the occult defense network, the Park Service, and the Occult Services division lapsed in the Roaring Twenties as occult threats seemed a thing of the last century.  And with their lapse came the largest occult assault on the United States in recorded history, an economic focused ritual of destruction powered by the deaths of Russian peasants and directed by communist ritualists at the command of Lenin.  The United States would not recover until FDR realized the problems of the United States were not strictly economic and political, but also magical.  The New Deal restored not just economic vitality to the United States, but arcane power as new monuments were built and new highways laid out in runic patterns just in time to the rising power of the largest occult threat in history: Nazi Germany.

While soldiers fought and died the world over, in the shadows of the Second World War occult agents of all the major powers fought a battle of spells, rituals, scrying, and deceit.  The Spear of Destiny lead the Blitzkreig into France, and the invasion of Normandy was only approved once it had been stolen by a team of French and British wizards.  This conflict would be height of wizardry for most of the world for decades to come and is considered by many to be the height of modern magic.  Unfortunately though in the closing days of the war, as Hitler’s occult resources diminished, so did the attention of the United States military to occult threats.  Thus in the closing days of the war the United States went after the remains of the German experimental weapons programs, the Soviets collected the remains of Germany’s occult storehouses.

Thus began the Cold War, with the United States always ahead in technology but always behind in occult power.  Eisenhower, hardened by his encounters with German necromancers in World War Ii during the Battle of the Bulge, tried to turn the tables in the 1950s with the Eisenhower highway system, which was meant as one giant runic defense system for the United States, but that only set the Soviets back few years.  From the  1950s until the fall of the Soviety Union during the Red Sky incident in 1991, in which the collective consciousness of the Soviet Union was linked due to a flawed experiment in a science city and led to the August Revolution, the Soviet Union slowly wore away at American arcane power, weakening defenses that took centuries to build.  Placing its face in technology and economic might rather than mumbo jumbo, the United States chose to continually shift focus away from those branches that had some power to fight occult threats.  By the time the Soviet threat ended the Park Service had only a handful of occult trained agents, the Occult Services division was shut down, and the Secret Service had a single occult trained agent that worked with the Park Service to handle Capital security.  While the fall of the Soviet Union reduced the threat of outside occult attack for a decade, some of those former Soviet arcane operators have sold their skills to other factions including terrorists, dictators, and anyone looking to get an advantage.  This is on top of all the various hedge wizards and arcane collectors in the world, any one of which could be sitting on a mystic atomic bomb like the Ark of the Covenant or the head of Rasputin. 

And against all this stands a few park rangers, a handful of aging World War II wizards, and one secret service agent.  Of course there are those rumors about the NSA occult information task force…

Magic

Magic in the world of Soul of a Nation is an energy of possibility that collects naturally in certain locations, item of historic or personal importance, and in specific people.  This energy can be channeled to accomplish supernatural tasks, but they must be somehow related to the item the energy is coming from.  For example, the presidential monuments of Washington D.C. allow the ghosts of those presidents to exist around the capital, the St. Louis arch can be used as a portal to anywhere west of it within the territory of the United States, and the suit JFK wore when he was killed can increase the charisma of the wearer (particularly when making speeches) but tends to curse its wearer with bad luck in regard to physical injuries.  Items and locations usually have a certain number of specific things their energy can be used for, and anyone who knows the proper rituals or actions can do so.  Some rituals are simple, like firing the gun used to kill President Garfield at a sitting President to increase your chance of killing him, while others, like activating the top level defensive wards built into Mount Rushmore or the Statue of Liberty, are very complex. Magic items can have both passive and active effects; the Statue of Liberty has permanent defensive spells and ones that must be activated, all built by the finest French Freemanson occultists as a gift to the fledgling arcane defenses of the United States. 

The power in an item or place can be increased through special inscriptions, runes, rituals, etc.  Thus the carving of Mount Rushmore was meant to redirect the already powerful arcane energies of the mountain into specific things more desired by the United States Government.  Many of the great monuments across the world serve similar functions.  Magical items can be similarly modified, but this is usually a far more difficult procedure since the margin for error is so much smaller.  Going an inch too far carving a rune in a mountain is one thing, but doing so on a revolver is something completely different.  While it is possible to make a magical item completely from scratch, doing so is the perview of wizards and no one has done so in decades…or at least no one has admitted to doing so. 

Wizards are a rare lot, and go by different names in different cultures.  Basically anyone who has the power to channel mystic energy to do use as they wish, instead of being forced to use it as an object or place requires, is a wizard.  Wizards can also collect mystic power from places or items and store it in themselves, though only in small amounts, so most wizards carry a number of empowered items with them and when possible make their homes in historic locations they can draw power from.  Technically anyone can learn to be a wizard, but it’s like the ability to draw: some people are naturally much better at it than others.  Also the process of becoming a wizard is long, arduous, and lacking in teachers.  Since World War II there has been no program of mystic training outside of the Soviet Union and books with actual arcane merit are very hard to cull from the vast chaff of fluff arcane bullshit.  Currently the only trained wizards in the employ of the United States government are the handful of surviving members of the Occult Services division, and they’re all too old for active duty these days (though they do occasionally advise the Park Service on an informal basis).  Sure the park service occasionally hears about a bunch of wizards running around Chicago, but they don’t have the manpower to investigate. 

GodWar System Part 2: Destiny and Fate

All characters in GodWar have a Destiny rating that is a measure of both the character’s importance in the world and their importance in the story.  Unnamed pack animals, unremarkable peasants, craftsmen who just do their jobs, etc have low destinies while leaders of men, great heroes, and notable villains all have high Destinies.  Most people have a Destiny of 1, but player characters are assumed to start with a Destiny of 5 (a lower starting Destiny can be used for a grittier game while a higher starting destiny makes the game more over the top).  A person’s Destiny is not set and can change through time.  Sidekicks may become heroes in their own right, once powerful kings may become deposed mad beggars, and wild horses may become loyal trained destriers. 

Destiny is not a measure of a persons worth, but how much they can accomplish at the moment.  Characters that pursue greatness tend to have higher destinies than those who do not.  An ambitious peasant who studies and works at becoming a warrior will likely have a higher destiny than a noble who does nothing but mope around his house.

As a character increases in Destiny they gain more effort, allowing them to do more in a given conflict, and some other special abilities besides.  A character only has the effort appropriate to his current Destiny, but has the special abilities from all lower Destiny levels.  So a Legendary character is immune to area damage not specifically aimed at him, just like Paragon characters. 

Destiny Ratings and their Effects

0: Animal

Unnamed animals, such as herd animals and random wildlife, that pose no threat nor have any notable interactions with the players.  These NPCs are rarely more than window dressing and rarely get involved in the story.

• Animals are rendered unconscious or dead (at attacker discretion) if they suffer a single point of damage of any type.   
• Animals do draw cards and may only carry out one action per round, for which they are considered to have a result of 5. 
• Examples: Cows, deer, rats, rabbits. 

1: Mook

Mooks are average people who have no specific name and are not direct opponents have a Destiny of 1, as do named animals with no narrative importance.  These NPCs can provide particularly weak opponents for the players and operate many of the establishments the players may frequent, such as bars or farms.  Most people in GodWar have a Destiny of 1.

• Mooks are rendered unconscious or dead (at attacker discretion) if they suffer a single point of damage of any type but can benefit from armor. 

• Mooks do not roll draw cards and instead may only attempt a single action each around with a result of 5. 
• Examples: Named pack animals, random NPCs in bars, most peasants, green soldiers.  

2: Minion

Minions are average people who have a first and last name, are of limited narrative importance, or are nameless minions in direct opposition to the players. The most common threat players will face en masse are minions. 

• Minions are rendered unconscious or dead if they suffer a five points of damage of any type but can benefit from armor.
• Minions do not draw cards and instead may only attempt two actions each round with a result of 5 for each.    
• Examples: Bandits, thugs, average soldiers, hungry wolves, pick pockets,

3: Henchman

Henchmen are average characters who have some experience and who are of some narrative importance have a Destiny of 3.  Henchmen often lead groups of minions and can provide some threat to players, particularly in groups.  Most named characters have a Destiny of 3.

• Henchmen have 22 point to divide between their Health and Stability.   
• Henchment do not draw cards and instead may only attempt two actions each around with a result of 10 for one and 5 for the other.  Generally they should only be able to use the 10 result in two skills. 
• Examples: Sergeants, conquistadors, veteran soldiers, assassins, bandit leaders, wizard apprentices, angry bears, highly skilled craftsmen, trusted mounts, squires, court advisors, smugglers, Templar initiates.

4: Expert

Experienced characters have a few years of experience in the world and are skilled at their chosen profession.  They are always of some narrative importance and always have a first and last name, and some may have titles as well.  Experts often serve as the right hand men to Veteran characters and commonly have several henchmen that report to them.

• Experts have four effort. 
• Experts have one skill at 4, two skills at 3, two skills at 1, and all other skills at 2. 
• Experts calculate their Health and Stability normally.    
• Examples: Bandit chiefs, master craftsmen, knights of renown, hedge wizards, elite soldiers, captains, low ranking nobles, crime bosses, bounty hunters, Templars, Warriors of Axum, Swiss Guard.

5: Veteran

Veteran characters have many years of experience under their belt in addition to some manner of renown, wealth, power, or magical skills.  They are the leaders of men, the doers of great deeds, and the masters of the political scene.  Many have influence over several dozen followers, a territory comparable to a barony, a business or ship, or some other manner of temporal power beyond their own skills. Veteran characters are always narratively important, such as being the prime opponent (or at least a major lieutenant to the main villain) in a given story. Most player characters and important NPC villains are Veterans. 

• Veteran is the default starting level for player characters. 
• Veterans have five effort.    
• Veterans calculate their Health and Stability normally.    
• Veterans begin with one skill at 5, two skills at 4, three skills at 3, one skill at 1, and all other skills at 2.  These may be determined by the player or determined randomly via card draws. 
• Any Destiny 0 character that contests against or attacks a Veteran character automatically fails. 
• Examples: Bandit kings, master assassins, skilled knights, wizards, commanders, barons, crime lords, master thieves, Templar captains, Stigmatics, Michaelangelo, Ponce de Leon

6: Notable

Notable characters have major influence on any story they are a part of and have worldly influence over a large area, such as a county or large swath of nomadic territory.  Notable characters are always extremely proficient in their chosen path but usually have a few other talents as well. They are always of great narrative importance, becoming one of the major characters in any story they are involved in.

• Notable have six effort.
• Notables calculate their Health and Stability normally. 
• Notables generally have one skill at 6, two at 5, three at 4, four at 3, and everything else at 2. 
• Notable no longer have any chance of dying due to blood loss or normal illnesses. 
• Examples: Generals, master swordsmen, dukes, skilled wizards, heroes, master inventors, Machiavelli,

7: Hero (or Villain)

Heroes (or villains for less well inclined characters) are the highest a character can advance before they stop being completely mortal and become somewhat an agent of something larger.  Heroes can alter the fate of nations on a daily basis and are beginning to breach the limits of normal mortal accomplishment. 

• Heroes have seven effort.   
• Heroes calculate their Health and Stability normally. 
• Heroes generally have one skill at 7, two at 6, three at 5, four at 4, and everything else at 3. 
• Heroes are no longer affected by area attacks that do not specifically target them, such as grenades thrown at someone standing next to the Hero. 
• Examples: Archmages, kings, great heroes, Christopher Columbus, Queen Elizabeth

8: Paragon

Paragon characters have passed beyond the constraints of mortality and into some greater level of existence.  They are now intrinsically written into the story of existence, and are extremely hard to remove from it (for good or ill).  Paragon characters can take on entire armies or change the fate of entire regions. 

• Paragons have eight effort
• Paragons calculate their Health and Stability normally. 
• Paragons generally have one skill at 8, two at 7, three at 6, four at 5, and everything else at 4. 
• Any attacker with a Destiny of 0 or 1 that attacks or contest against a Paragon automatically fails. 
• Examples: Master wizards, Lenardo da Vinci

9: Legend

Legend characters are the sorts that storm Heaven, fear no mortal man, and bend many nations to their will.  Their deeds will long survive their life time, be they for good or ill. 

• Legends have nine effort.
• Legends calculate their Health and Stability normally.
• Legends generally have one skill at 9, two at 8, three at 7, four at 6, and everything else at 5. 
• Legend characters have sixteen base physical and mental health levels. 
• Examples: Serafis

10: Incarnate

The most powerful creatures in existence, only a handful of Incarnates exist at any given time.  They are the greatest heroes, leaders, inventors, and villains of their day, able to save or threaten entire worlds or levels of existence with their actions.  Such individuals are encountered only very very rarely and usually serve as the long term protagonists or antagonists for long term stories.  Incarnates usually exit the story shortly after reaching this state, having few suitable obstacles to face. 

• Incarnate characters have ten effort.    
• Incarnate characters calculate their health and mental stability normally.
• Any attacker with a Destiny of 0, 1 or 2 that attacks or contest against a Paragon automatically fails. 
• Examples: Your players in the later stages of the game.  There are no Incarnates in the default setting of GodWar. 

Fate

Player characters automatically go up in Destiny as they progress through the campaign by earning Fate points.  Fate points are earned parallel to experience points and are earned for great deeds, successful or unsuccessful, that the character is involved in.  Winning or losing great battles, committing great crimes, giving amazing speeches to rouse the common people to revolt can all result in gaining Fate points.  Also the character earning recognition in the world, such as gaining noble title or a reputation in the world, can garner him Fate points. 

At character creation each character has 25 Fate points to build their history this far in the world.  These points are spent according to the following guidelines to determine what the major events in the character’s life have been so far, and the mechanical and material effects of them.  Instead of allocating these points players can choose to randomly determining this history using card draws if desired. 

To spend Fate points the player should come up with a list of titles, special skills, achievements, important items, and other facets of the character not covered in abilities or powers.  These can really be just about anything, from having a noble title to being the best gambler in France.  The player should make a list of at least five such things describing their character. 

<sidebar>

Example Fate Items

Baron of (insert name of lands here)

Carrier of the Blade Caliburn

Slayer of the Demon Caarrizod

Steadfast as a Mountain

Captain of the Drunken Mermaid

<end sidebar>

The player then allocates the twenty five Fate points they begin with amongst this list with no single item allowed more points than the Destiny of the character.  These descriptors of a character’s past are called facets.  Any time the facet could reasonably affect a given situation, such as a reputation helping you talk someone into doing what you want or a noble using his legal authority to order someone around, you get a bonus to your result on any related tests equal to the value of the facet.  Multiple facets may be applied to the same result.  Each time a facet is used during a session the rating of the facet decreases by one (if a character goes throwing his reputation around too much it wears thin, a noble who hides behind his title does not inspire much loyalty, etc).  These lost points return at the beginning of each session unless there is some story reason for them not to (such as a noble losing his title). 

Points spent on facets that involve physical objects, like property or ships, gain the character a number of construction points to build that item equal to the value of the facet