The Game of Balance

Story Setting:

This is the world, torn by an endless war between good and evil. The mighty forces, fighting each other till the end for world domination. The good fighting for Love and Justice. The evil fighting for Freedom and Chaos. Both relentless in their pursuit of the ultimate power!...

And in the clouds above them, far beyond the reach of any mortal and immortal being. There stands the Creator - the one who keeps balance over this world. This being was forever shunned for not helping each of the sides of conflict, maintaining a steady balance of power. Fed with their whining, he chose a set of people from this world and appointed them with one task - "To keep the balance of this world".

He chose them as Gods of this world - keeping the balance.
He showed them the results - of the Good and pure winning.
He showed them the world - with only Evil within.
They both seen, what it would become afterwards.
Apocalypse - an end to this world.


The chosen people had no way of forcing their beliefs. If one of the sides wins, the world will face its doom. The only thing they could do is to keep balance between Good and Evil. Order and Chaos. Love and Hatred. Wealth and Poverty. Health and Sickness.

Now the Creator has left them. And they are to tell what is good and what is wrong. They have to forever rebalance the world. But they had the word, that once they reached ultimate balance, the Creator would once again return and let them rest, again remaining as the Guardian of Balance.


How to Play:

Just keep it balanced!
Every player that joins the game becomes a "God of X and Y". X refers to anything you wish and Y is it's counterpart. So for example, the Gods would be:
- Of Good and Evil
- Of Food and Hunger
- Of Parties and Mourning
- Of Men and Women
- Of Black and White
- Of Law and Chaos

And so on. The players then have to all debate on what they decide to change in the world. Every time the GM posts, a YEAR has passed in the world. You will receive two informations about the changes, which will look like this:

Quote :

Year 1

"The Armies of Good and Evil are roughly the same power, yet a new Hero has emerged at the side of Good. Xennas The Holy Hammer is now charging with his Paladins towards the boarder."

"The whole year was filled with heavy rainfalls."

Additionally every player will receive a PM, stating what his "followers" have prayed to him. Depending on WHAT you represent, you will receive the kind of information that is bound to your status. Let's say for the sake of this example, that you are a "God of War and Peace". Every "year" you will get a PM, like this:

Quote :

Year 1

You have received many prayers from your followers.

"Oh please, give Xennas strength to end the war. The dark ones are far superior to us in numbers. If we won't push them back, we will surely die."

"This constant war is terrible.... yet for us blacksmiths it is a golden age. I haven't made this much money while selling only kettles."

Depending on the number of "prayers" you will get more information in your PM. It is up to you whether you reveal that information to your fellow players. Be aware however that sometimes it is best NOT to reveal it, as it might affect their judgment in a negative way. A biased call for balance might be bad.


How to vote.

Basically you have to suggest something. Your suggestion will be in red like this.
Your fellow players will either agree or give their own suggestions. You have an infinite time to make a decision. Once you make a decision, I as the Gm will post that a Year has passed.

For the sake of the tutorial, let's say that the God of War and Peace is alone, so he decides. Let's give Xennas strength so he can win at the boarder.

The situation will now look like this.

Quote :

Year 1

"The Armies of Good are pushing the Evil army deep into their lands. Xennas The Holy Hammer, unmatched in every battle due to his Holy Strength has killed the Leaders of the Evil army and is sure to soon bring endless peace."

"The population of Orcs has decreased by 75% and is soon nearing extinction."

And he F-ed up. The thing is, the "God of War and Peace" was not PRECISE in what amount of power he granted. Since the Leaders of the Evil army went to the boarder, Xennas was given ultimate power. That is why when you are buffing or nerfing something, remember to ADD A VALUE TO IT. Simply because you never know what circumstances can happen.

So basically, a good way to buff Xennas would be: Let's make Xennas 50% Stronger.

Or perhaps the drought was to be really addressed? The First text always states the power level of both armies. The Second is the MOST MAJOR PROBLEM of balance. Just because the Orcs now appear it doesn't mean that rain is not an issue anymore. It will just return.

You have to keep the balance of both the armies AND the world. The world cannot be just peachy, because it might mean a drastic change soon. The more off-balance the world is, the bigger change in the Army movement will happen.


Gods have also an ADDITIONAL power.
They can ask ONE question about the world, that falls under their power. So the "God of War and Peace" can ask:
"What is the balance of power on the boarder?"
He will then receive a clear answer in the topic. Each God can ask such a question only ONCE per "year". So the more players, the more information you can get per Year.

This game can be played even by one person, and by as many as you wish.
Also, if you want to leave or join, you are free at any time. If you join mid-game, like at Year 23, you will just join in at 23, adding your power and role. If you want to leave, you will just leave without your votes or powers present.

If you want to re-enter, you will however have to be back with your own role. You can however ONCE per the WHOLE GAME change your role.

So.. this is a pretty casual game.

Who is up for it?

Not so long a read as I assumed at a glance...


I'm having a hard time deciding between being God of 'Tongues and Taboos' and 'Speech and Silence'; they're related, but not the same.

This... is actually a cool concept.

...Huh. This is pretty interesting... I might be game for this.

I like this.

Funny how this actually fits Kyrin's backstory to a tee.

I'm thinking whether I should put this in the Game Grid or the RP forum.

It's not like this requires much role play... And it allows players to kick in or leave at their pace.



Oh yeah, one note... YOU CANNOT WIN IN THIS GAME. The aim of the game is to preserve the world for as long as possible. So in other worlds, you are aiming at the highest score. So, you destroy the world in 20 Years, that is bad. If the world survived 400 years, that is a nice score.

And just as a heads up, so be warned.
MAKE SUBTLE CHANGES.
If you say "increase amount of people by 50%" then remember they won't be born. They will be SPAWNED into the world. If you make changes that are obviously caused by a higher being, the PM information will get corrupted, since the "prayers" will just be people that do nothing but rely on divine power.

So.... I guess I'll start this and anyone can kick in when they wish.

The game has started.

To join, just go to the topic, post your God name and You can debate on a solution. Your PM will also soon join you.

The rules are a bit updated in the Game grid topic. Have fun.