This week's recommendations are for games that give you the ability to play gods or the children of gods.
The Knot hangs ponderous, heavy - pulling taut the tangled threads of the Fabric Between Worlds. Tired, callused hands pick at the threads, easing the tangles, bit by aching bit. Slowly, deliberately, they pull at loose threads to scrutinize with weary eyes, as they mutter amongst themselves. Piles of threads form at their feet, growing ever larger, until the eldest amongst them finally speaks. ‘That is… enough. For now. With these Thrums - these tangled, fraying threads - They can return.’
The others simply nod, and gather together what threads they have found.
The eldest stares at The Knot that threatens all that exists in the worlds, ‘The rest… is up to Them.’
LOOM is a Fantasy Action TTRPG where players take on the roles of fallen Gods - tricked out of their Domains - trying to reclaim their seats of power. LOOM is a combat heavy game taking inspiration from video games like Hades. This game is Illuminated, and is made using the LUMEN system created by Spencer Campbell of GilaRPGs.
The LUMEN system is designed for action-packed games, and uses only d6s for the whole of the game. LOOM also contains an Overload system, which is meant to represent the cost of immortality: the Gods may persist, but at the cost of their powers. The key to regaining your power is unraveling the Knot, which contains unknown dangers along every Thread. If you like the idea of choosing your own rewards while facing unknown hordes of foes, LOOM might be worth checking out! Right now it's just the ashcan version, but it's funding on itch.io.
These are times of trouble: the days are numbered. Legends told us about them. We have names for them in our sacred scriptures: the Ragnarök, the War of Gods, the Apocalypse, the Arrival of Avatars, the Eternal Night, the Infinite Void. The end of days.
But we are not alone, we are not powerless: the gods are walking among us. They are here to guide us, to save the world as we know it – or to help us reach the land of the Dead. If we pray faithfully enough and prove our worthiness, perhaps we can be spared.
In Godsend you roam the lands as the avatar of your god, cursing mere mortals and presenting gifts to the chosen ones. Your memories are numerous, made of the lives of your predecessors, your power is almost limitless. Will you use it to fulfil the will of your god? Or, as the end times draw near, will you try to save the world?
Godsend uses the same system as Legacy: Life Among The Ruins, which is Powered by the Apocalypse. However, this game doesn't use dice at all; instead players will be forced to make choices about what can happen based off of the stats and abilities they select at character creation. (You're gods, you don't leave things up to chance!) Each player has two playbooks to control: a god and the god's avatar. As you play through four ages, the gods may rise and fall, while their avatars may ascend to become gods in their own right.
Divine || Mundane by Hamblet Games
You are a god of good, of light and truth. You are god of evil, of rot and decay. You are a mortal hero, steadfast and loyal in a world of the divine.
Divine || Mundane is a game in which you build a world together and find out what happens when gods clash with mortals and with each other, when rivals must work together, when enemies become lovers, when war brings people closer.
Divine || Mundane uses the Firebrands system, which is built off of a series of mini-games the players will engage in. It's very similar to to Powered by the Apocalypse games in that you play to find out what happens, rather than exploring a narrative that the GM sets up beforehand.
You are the child of a God, born to the magic of yesterday and the promise of tomorrow. You live in a World of myth, where every ancient story is true. Your ancient enemies, the Titans, stir in their prison beneath the lands of the dead. Their spawn issues forth from lands of myth, and the spectre of war falls across the heavens. In this age of turmoil, you seize your birthrights and feel the call of your blood.
Find your destiny. Live the myth. Embrace your Fate.
Scion is a game about Gods and humanity, and everything in between. It’s a game about mythic Deeds and the reasons people talk about those mythic Deeds. Scion: Origin details the Scions when they’re still (mostly) human, before the Visitation that introduces them to the divine World — they’re exceptional humans, perhaps, blessed with luck and skill or cursed with ill fortune and strange trials in their lives, but humans nonetheless.
Scion underwent a big upgrade with its second edition, from sensitivity readers, to an expansion of the rules to allow for the inclusion of gods not listed in the book's lore sections. The books are split up according to power levels, so Origin will give you the basics, but Hero will get your characters to the level at which legends are made. Demigod is out, and God is currently in production. The books themselves are on the pricier side of things, and the the index leaves a lot to be desired, but if you're looking for a system with a wealth of options, a lot of inspiration, and mechanics that prize investigation and social scenes just as much as combat, Scion 2e might be worth checking out.
Part-Time Gods, by Third Eye Games
Long ago, an entity known as the Source visited humanity and gifted certain people with divine power. For a time, the world existed in a state of balance between order and chaos, between life and death, between divinity and mortality. That is, until the gods waged war against the Source and eventually against each other, until the gods were close to extinct.
The gods of today are shadows of what the old gods possessed. Their power has been heavily diminished, and many choose to live a regular, mortal life, revealing themselves as gods only when absolutely necessary.
The gods exist today in a state of flux. They have a mortal life, a job (or career if they’re lucky), friends, family, and everything that comes with being human, and they work hard to protect these things from harm. On the other side of the coin, they also have a Dominion to command and oversee, a deific Territory to defend from intruders, secret societies to which they owe allegiances (called Theologies), and other gods in their pantheon to try to get along with. This becomes their life, the balancing of the mortal and the divine, the normal and the supernatural, the mundane and the strange. The gods belong not to either world completely, and each of them knows that delving too deeply into one means losing pieces of the other.
Part Time Gods requires a large amount of d10s, and optionally, poker chips or some other token that can represent Free Time and Wealth. Character creation is flexible enough to bring a concept to the table and build toward it, while still containing complexities that dive into different pieces of your character's personality, from their Occupation to their Archetype to their Theology. Your character will have a combination of practical skills and supernatural manifestations to wield when problems come their way. If you like a heavy amount of lore, a lot of moving pieces to keep track of, and the theme of balancing both mundane responsibilities and supernatural birthrights, Part Time Gods is the game for you.
Our Minerva by Vagabond Pen & Paper
Pilgrims come from the far reaches of the Microcosmic Plane, from the various worlds over which the divine rule. They undertake a great journey across the stars to offer their services to the divine in Sport.
In private though, far away from the cameras and microphones of Coliseum, they whisper of ulterior motives for their athletic exploits, both benign and sinister. It has even been said that some give voice to the heretical lie that they come from other planes altogether, beyond the domain of the gods both dead and undead. A claim as impossible as it is profane.
Our Minerva is a GMless, slice-of-life tabletop roleplaying game about the athlete children of undead gods. You'll portray their exploits in Sport, their responsibilities in Duty, and especially their interactions and relationships in a quiet, rural Town where they never actually lived. Our Minerva is the sequel to Revenant World: A science-fantasy tabletop role-playing game about brave kids and undead gods. It stands on its own, but takes place in the same universe, 150 years later, incorporating and reimagining elements from the first game.
Instead of dice, you'll use a pack of playing cards to draw out the narrative. This game is great if you like the idea of mythology combining with the teenage struggles of romance and teamwork. It's also a great option for groups without a GM, or where the GM would like to take a bit of a break.
Heart and Lightning by Swords and Flowers
You are Daughters of Lightning, a rider of storms, and breaker of mountains. You are warriors, lovers, and legend.
Barely of age for the throne, you have been kicked out of your immortal homeland and stripped of your powers for another one of your stupid (brave!) antics (deeds!!!). As outcasts, you must work together, prove yourselves, and return home.
HEART & LIGHTNING is a rock-inspired, sword and sorcery tabletop roleplaying game about teenage gods, rebellion, and the troubles they get into. Play as the Daughters of Lightning, almighty children who embody storms, its power, rage and tenacity. Stubborn and young, you've recently been evicted from your heavenly home and must complete a quest to return.
One of the elements of HEART & LIGHTNING that really stands out is the character creation. You have two main traits and three side traits. Then each character chooses a Domain, a Gift, and a Talent. You can mix and match these options to create the Daughter of your choice. For GMs, there's a number of factions to play with, and a horde of npcs and antagonists to pick up and drop into your game. The rolling mechanic uses 2d6 and a graded success, like most PbtA games. If you like playing to find out, and more character customization options than a regular PbtA game gives you, you should check this one out!
In the mists of ancient time, a poet sings of great deeds wrought by mighty heroes—of monsters slain and justice restored, of wise counsel and devious strategies, of courage, valor, and daring—defiant of the gods themselves.
In AGON, you create these heroes, crafting their epic tale into an immortal legend. On their way back home from war, a band of heroes become lost among strange islands populated by mythical creatures, dangerous villains, legendary kingdoms, and desperate people—each entangled in strife, at the mercy of the capricious gods.
AGON is designed for session-contained play that is easy to contain in 2-3 hours thanks to a streamlined rolling system. Characters will increase in power and fame with every great deed, and their actions will inform both the abilities they gain and the legacy they leave behind. AGON uses a number of different dice - from d6s to d12s - and is the parent of the PARAGON system, which is a new but quickly-growing family of games. If you like self-contained sessions with an emphasis on storytelling and minimal work for the GM, AGON is for you.
