Worldbuilding Rules

This is a world of magic and monsters, great and terrible wonders, heroes, villains, objects of power, sacred landscapes, great world-shaping miracles and daily divine intervention, all watched over by the powerful spiritual beings called archons.
This manual includes a default setting that includes a selection of archons and a default world. However, you are strongly encouraged to get your gaming group together and dream up your own world for the campaign. Everyone in the group should think about what kinds of things they want to experience. What challenges do they want to face? What themes do they want to explore? What kinds of characters do they want to play?

Creating an Archon

Your first step in creating the game world is making the beings who are going to be shaping it, the archons. Start dreaming up the kind of character who could be worshiped as a god. Figure out what their personality is like, and what kind of domains they would govern over. If this process seems tedious or needlessly challenging, you can instead take on the role of one of our example archons listed here.
A Domain is an aspect of reality that the archon rules over. Karassa has the seas as her Domain, giving her power and ownership of the oceans. Aquillus is archon of Knowledge, giving him and his followers exceptional understanding. Innestia has the Domain of passion, meaning she can inspire it in people, especially her followers. Each archon has 4 Domains, and these aspects of personality and ownership determine the kinds of miracles they perform, supernatural abilities they grant, and spells their followers can learn. For world creation specifically, it determines the kind of features they add to the world.

Anathemas

You’ll pick an anathema for each Domain you have. An anathema is something that is opposed to your nature and that you cannot or will not work your will upon directly. In game terms, you cannot do any supernatural work with a Domain upon that Domain’s anathema, so this means that any miracles, spells, or talents that stem from that Domain have no effect upon the anathema.
An anathema should oppose the Domain. If your Domain is clothing, then lightning would be a poor anathema. A better anathema would be moths (which eat fabric).
An anathema should also be of the same size and scale as the Domain it opposes. If your Domain is mice, an anathema of cats would be appropriate while something like cats with six claws would be too specific. If your Domain is flying creatures, then cats would be too small and specific of an anathema, and you’ll need something broader.
But the trickiest of all is to remember that an anathema trumps your Domain, and thus it is important not to pick an anathema that the Domain is intended to overcome. Consider the Domain of healing. If your anathema for healing is disease, then you cannot cure diseases; they are beyond your power to heal. A better anathema might be poor hygiene or ignorance, things that hinder medicine and things you don’t intend your medicine to overcome.
Choosing good anathemas can be extremely tricky. To that end, you can take some time to list them rather than having them all on hand before the session starts.

Creating the World

This section of the rules is a method for everyone involved in the game to create the world in which the game will be played, and to have fun while doing it. Using this method creates a different experience from normal roleplaying, as it gives the players as much say as the GM in what the world is like. There are some serious advantages and some disadvantages to using this method of world generation, but we recommend it for this game as a way to get a world that everyone at the table knows the history of and feels invested in.
World creation will take about 2-3 hours and requires a large sheet of paper to work as a map, grey and colored pencils, as well as some six-sided dice and fudge dice. You will also need a notebook to record all details that won't be shown on a map. The players each get a character sheet for their archon and a copy of the choral readings for the The Five Ages of Man, and they may appreciate having a printout of the great miracles list that follows
Players should come to the table having already put some thought into who their archon is and what the archon is about, though character sheets are finalized at the table. They may wish to discuss their archons with each other. They each choose four Domains for their archon to start with. Each player should also have a set color that represents them, and they will need a colored pencil that matches that color. The color symbolism let you tell with a quick glance at the map which archons have had an influence over what areas.
Before the game begins, lay out a large piece of paper in the center of the table so that all players can access it. You’ll start by marking out a basic landscape made by the Creator. Each player and the GM take a grey pencil and shade in the section of land nearest them, forming the coastline of a continent, possibly making a few landmasses if the fancy strikes them. Then, they each add a single feature that could exist in our world, such as a forest, canyon, mountain range, desert, lake, or something of the sort. This is again done in grey pencil, the work of the Creator, and thus will not have any of the fantastical elements that an archon would bring.
After this point, inform the players that the Creator has made their archons and invited them to join in the act of creation. Then everyone begins to read the first age of The Five Ages of Man. Each age has a piece of italicized text called the choral recitation. The players will read that text together to mark the beginning of each age. Each archon will roll 4 six-sided dice and 4 fudge dice at the beginning of each age. They will go around and each list one great miracle they are doing to shape the world, maybe introducing a new species of monster, or adding a geographic feature, or founding a city, or some other such change. In doing so, the player takes one of their six-sided dice to determine the potency of the miracle, and associates it with one of their Domains. The higher the die, the bigger the effect of the great miracle. Each Domain should be used exactly once per age. The miracle must be associated in some way, perhaps vaguely, with the change being made. For example, a Domain of fire could justify a forest that's often on fire, a hot desert, a species of spicy chili peppers, or a flaming sword. During the campaign, it may be important to closely monitor Domains for game balance purposes, but for world creation it's usually better to allow for fun and interesting content even if it isn't perfectly in line with a Domain.
After an archon states what their great miracle accomplished, any and all of the other archons can spend one of their fudge dice to modify the great miracle. If the fudge die landed on a +, they can improve it, making it bigger, stronger, more potent, or more prevalent. This adds +1 to the miracle's potency. If the fudge die landed on a -, they can undermine it, making it weaker, less common, less important, or cursed. As you would expect, this lowers the great miracle's potency by one. If the fudge die landed on a blank, they can add a twist that is not particularly positive or negative and does not affect the miracle's potency. Players can do this immediately upon the other archon performing the great miracle, or they can wait until later and inspiration strikes them. However, once the age ends, any unused fudge dice are lost. Each player may only modify any particular great miracle once per age, but all the players at the table may all team up on the same miracle. These fudge dice must always be associated with one of the archon's Domains, although they may reuse the same Domains when modifying other archons' actions.
When the archon is finished with describing their great miracle, and marking its effects on the map or noting them down in the notes, play moves on to the next archon. Each archon has 4 Domains and 4 dice and so they get to do 4 things per age as well as modify things done by others 4 times per round. After all archons have taken all of their actions, end the age and read the choral recitation for the next age.
The default is 5 ages. If there were 5 or more players, and the map is starting to seem complex and overwhelming, finish the map at the end of age 4 and don’t go on to the fifth age. Conversely, if 5 ages have passed and you still don't feel like there's enough content, you can add an extra age.

Great Miracle Types

Generic

While there are many miracle types, they all are different ways of representing the same basic principle: the more points that are invested in a great miracle, the bigger, more potent, more prevalent it is, and the more important it is to the world the game takes place in.

Rules

A great miracle with a rating of 1 is a small but still anecdote in the world while one with a rating of 6 is one of the most important things in that world.

Shape Landscape

This allows you to take a specific section of the map and turn it into whatever environment you wish, stating whatever you wish for the terrain features, flora and fauna, weather patterns, and geographic features. The more powerful the miracle, the larger area of terrain you can shape. Empty ocean can become a frothing volcano. Thriving oasis can appear spontaneously in a barren desert. You can create floating islands, forests that are perpetually on fire, waterfalls that flow backwards, or any other fantastical geographical features you wish. You can also take an area of terrain that has already been transformed and expand its size.

Examples

Cora calls forth a fairy forest teeming with eldritch creatures.
Adara expands the size of a lake and adds a second river coming from it.
Aquillus lifts a chunk of land into the skies to create a floating island.
Skylos puts a moon soaring through the heavens.

Rules

For this great miracle, we suggest you keep some quarters or other coins on hand, and the miracle can shape an area of terrain that would be covered by a number of coins equal to miracle power.

Populate

This allows you to bring into existence a species of creatures, be they beasts, people, or monsters, and determine their culture, physiology, society, and abilities. The more powerful the great miracle, the more of this race there is in the world.
You can form a group of beings that emigrate from off the map or a race you created or a group of animals or plants transformed by your power. Sometimes you’ll take a race of beings in play and create a group that broke off from them, forming their own society. They’ll be physically identical but have a very different culture. Or, you can simply take a race already in existence and increase their numbers.

Examples

Innestia creates a race of fire-eaters who are are not harmed by flames but instead derive energy from them.
Karassa raises the undead beneath the waves to wage war against the living.
Karassa increases the strength of her undead, allowing them to grow in number.
Zareph calls forth a people from every tribe who follow the law handed down by the Creator.

Rules

Mark a number of towns on the map equal to miracle power to imply the areas under the influence of the population. Created populations each get 1 talent that defines the race’s special abilities. The number of people a population token represents is 10,000 times the age number. So 2 population tokens in the third age represent 60,000 people. You can assume that minor villages and outposts dot the countryside around a town.

Found City

This allows you to create a population center on the map, a city or some other gathering of people, and the higher the great miracle power the bigger and more impressive it is.
The city’s ethnic makeup is determined by whatever races already populate the region, but you can choose what the city looks like, what its government is, what kinds of things it specializes in, and so on.
A rating 1 found city is more or less the same as a rating 1 populate.

Examples

Aquillus founds the capital city of the empire.
Karassa gathers the undead into a fortification.
Cora creates a region of the forest so teeming with life that it is almost as if it were a city.

Rules

A city has a population equal to 10,000 times its rating times the age number. So a city rating 4 in the third age has 120,000 people in it. You can assume that a city marks an area of political control of the villages and hamlets that are assumed to be nearby.

Destroy

Whatever any other miracle does, destroy undoes. Relics are shattered, cities are ruined, Choose any miracle that has been done, and reduce its power by the power you put into this miracle. The destroy miracle reduces another miracle’s power by this miracle’s power. If the destroy miracle was more powerful, treat any leftover power as a curse (or some other great miracle if you desire).
No matter how thorough your destruction is, some remnant of what you destroyed remains. The city may be destroyed but it leaves behind ruins. The mountains may be turned to rubble, but a field of stones marks where they were. The artifact may be shattered and unusable, but the fragments are still in existence. The goal of the destroy miracle is not to obliterate something from existence, but to turn it into a grim reminder of how great it once was, and how it will never be that way again.

Examples

Karassa sends a disaster to ruin one of Aquillus’ cities.
Aquillus rebuilds the city, undoing Karassa’s destruction.
Zareph’s forces take to the seas, killing off the legions of Karassa’s undead, removing population markers.
Cora doesn’t like how Orrin enhanced her creatures and undoes that enhancing.

Curse

Curse leaves a lasting malady on a person, region, race, or object. The more powerful the great miracle the more detrimental the curse.

Examples

Rules

???. The curse will not be effective while its anathema is in place, but as soon as the anathema is gone the curse is back at full force.

Convert

Convert allows you to another's great miracle to align with your archon's desires. To do so, you must use a higher miracle power than the miracle you're affecting, and someone who wants to convert your miracle must use a higher miracle power in turn.

Create Monster

The populate and shape terrain miracles can fill the world with numerous enemies both intelligent and otherwize, sometimes you want a big giant monster to protect or threaten an area. This creates a single creature of incredible power. If your monster would die of old age, such as a mortal champion, then at the end of the age get rid of the token and leave a legacy that is represented by another miracle type of the same power rating.

Examples

Arjax imbues an aspect into a dragon, making a bigger, stronger, smarter, and more magical beast.
Innestia raises up a mighty warlord. He dies at the end of the age, but his legacy is the conquestof the neighboring tribes, represented by destroy miracle.
Hun Lao raises a monk to extreme power. However, in this monk's pride, he foreswears balance and turns into a rampaging demon.

Create Artifact

This allows you to invest a fraction of yourself into something or someone to create a an item of incredible power.
If you imbue an aspect into a living being, you create a hero or monster with superhuman power. If invested into an item you imbue it with tremendous potential. Place a token on the map representing the artifact.

Examples

Hun Lao creates a medicine pouch that can cure any affliction.
Orrin imbues a cape with the power to make the wearer appear to be anything they want.
Adara creates a jug of ever-flowing water.

Rules

Artifacts are magic items that have powers as if they have an attunment cost equal to great miracle power, but without the bearer having to pay that attunement cost. They will have a personality of their own and may be cursed, or place requirements on the bearer, or otherwise function differently than a normal magic item.

Create Wonder

This allows you to create a point of interest on the map, a place where your power runs rampant in the world. The more powerful the great miracle used to create it, the more powerful the wonder. Perhaps it is a temple, a cave full of treasure, a hidden glade of power, a portal to your realm, or massive eternal bonfire. Place a token on the map to represent your wonder.

Examples

Orrin creates a majestic building that gives a wondrous dream to anyone who sleeps in it.
Arjax makes a mountain where anything that is born and raised there grows to humongous size.
Aquillus creates a throne that recognizes the rightful ruler of the land.
Adara creates a giant turtle that strolls across the desert, streaming endless water off of its back.

Rules

Wonders are a break from the usual order of the world, and as such are tricky to pin down. Compare miracle level to this chart:

1. A trivial, curious effect, one that gives the place a unique flavor in case you happen to visit.
2. A small, useful effect, one that makes the place interesting if you drop by.
3. A significant, potent effect, one that makes this place definitely worth visiting.
4. A large, powerful effect, one that can become the focus of an entire session.
5. A game-changing effect, one that can shape the story in a profound way.
6. A dominating, overwhelming effect, one that can sway an entire campaign.
7. An unparalleled, world-changing effect, one that can command the focus of an entire campaign.

Establish Phenomenon

This allows you to set up a recurring happenstance in the world, and the more powerful the great miracle that establishes the phenomenon, the more often that phenomenon occurs, and the bigger the effect it has when it does.
This could be a supernatural event that occurs from time to time. It could be the introduction of a new philosophy, tradition, or technology. It could be a change in the way a force of nature works, or an event that happens periodically

Examples:

Cora causes the weather to occasionally rain toads.
Karassa shapes the oceans so that some of the dead that fall to the depths come back to life.
Aquilus introduces libraries to the world so that people may come and gain knowledge.

Rules

To figure out the cost of starting a phenomenon, figure out how prevalent and how potent it is using the chart below as a rough estimate, then add the two numbers together to get the cost.

Prevalence

1. Rare, will only occur once or twice in the campaign.
2. Uncommon, will occur several times during the campaign.
3. Common, will occur in less than half the sessions of the campaign.
4. Common, will occur more often than not during the campaign.
5. Ubiquitous, will occur for most sessions.

Potency

1. Trivial, will flavor a session in which it occurs but not significantly change it.
2. Small, will influence any session in which it occurs.
3. Large, will be a significant event in any session in which it occurs.
4. Grand, will significantly shape any session in which it occurs.
5. Overwhelming, will define any session in which it occurs.

The default cosmology of this world is an omnipotent Creator who establishes a basic world and entrusts it to the archons to shape as their wills determine. The assumption is the world will be like ours in most every way unless the archons intervene, and so it has scattered humans, plants, animals, and a natural geography. The world is round and the laws of nature such as gravity and time work the same way as in our world, though the archons that watch over these forces have authority over them.
However, mythology is filled with other cosmologies and you are welcome to pick another. Here are some examples for inspiration:

• The player archons defeated the primordials before the game began. Each player gets to describe the primordial they defeated, and how they turned its body into a landscape feature.
• The world is formless water that the player archons discover and shape.
• Several planetoids crash together and form a single planet. The archon of each planetoid now seeks to rebuild what was lost.
• The world itself is an archon, dead or sleeping, and the player archons shape its surface.
• The world is built on the ruins of the previous world, and at the end of the final age if the player archons don’t find a way to break the cycle, they will be consumed along with the world they created and a new one will be built on top of it.