What is Godbound? It's a 3pp Pathfinder class that basically transforms Pathfinder into a brand new game, though still a d20 game.
In Godbound, you play a Godbound. You're a superpowered godling whom no mortal hero can stop, no matter how powerful they are. If you're a level 1 Godbound and the other guy is a level 20 mortal wizard, you'll win because your can fling your divine powers at them and they'll have no chance of resisting. Your only opposition comes from other Godbound.
What kind of Godbound can you play? Think of an Exalted type. Those are the playable Godbound, because Godbound's setting is actually just Creation from Exalted. So you can play a Solar Godbound, a Lunar Godbound, a Sidereal Godbound, an Alchemical Godbound, or whatever.
What do you do in Godbound? Take over the world, try to make the world better, or both. But don't worry, because this game doesn't have any clunky domain management rules to slow you down. You'll just have to trust in your GM to fiat how things work in downtime.
You know Exalted didn't have any domain management rules either, right?
Isaiah Russell
>Pathfinder It's OSR champ
Adam Torres
>Your only opposition comes from other Godbound. And mega-undead, parasite gods, not-at-all mortal wizards, mortals possessed by divine artifacts, angels, and the things from beyond the void.
>because Godbound's setting is actually just Creation from Exalted. That's just false.
>You'll just have to trust in your GM to fiat how things work in downtime. GB has explicit rules for how you handle being a god in the downtime
Christian Murphy
Why can't you accept that it's a badly designed Pathfinder class?
Daniel Lewis
Because it's blatantly false and you're being a salty little bitch about it.
Alexander Martin
Look, there's nothing CONCEPTUALLY wrong about being a Pathfinder class.
William Butler
But it's not a Pathfinder class.
Isaac Gomez
[citation needed]
Levi Morris
I think the issue here is that he's 14, meaning that the only vaguely D&D looking thing he's ever seen is Pathfinder. Hence, anything that even seems to share a few commonalities must in turn also be Pathfinder.
I really like the fact that the only opposition you have is other Godbounds.
Yes, sure, that elder epic dragon is also a level 20 wizard, but your Godbound level 1 should be able to take him down. After all, he is a Godbound. He should be casually kill everything.
If you really want to start to challenge your players, just make the elder epic dragon a godbound too. Look, it's easy: you want no challenge? Do not stick the Godbound tag to your creatures. You want the orc tribes to create some challenge for your players? Just put the Godbound tag on every orc of the tribe.
This is the best way to mechanically enforce what should be a challenge and what shouldn't. It is consistent, coherent, and fun too.
Julian Martin
That's not any sort of proof though. You're quoting yourself. Why are you doing this?
Jordan Ross
My guess is boredom combined with a dislike of the game.
Josiah Wilson
I downloaded the game, read it, and all of that showed that it was not a Pathfinder class.
Julian Hernandez
For starters it isn't designed to be compatible with other d20. Second, it has guidlines on skilled mortals that could threaten novice godbound and mobs that could pose a danger.
Hudson Thomas
I really like this game, but I'm not encouraged by this being the only attempt to start a conversation about this game that wasn't started by me. I'd love to see a discussion about it, as opposed to the "Pathfinder Class" meme, but doubt there are more than a dozen people actually playing this game across the entire world.
So, in the vague hope that an accurate description of the system might make people read the pdf and actually want to discuss it, like what happened when we managed to make Fantasy Craft generals a thing for a while...
It's a light d20 system that delivers the sort of high-powered PCs that you normally only get by doing a few hours of paperwork i.e. powerbuilding in a crunchier system. I like powerbuilding, and I like that I can make an invincible magic-flinging swordsman in Exalted, but I also like that I can make essentially the same character in Godbound in three Words and six Gifts rather than a whole series of character signifiers and 15 Charms. There aren't many games that go rules-light and manage to deliver on the "your character is better than the people around them" power fantasy as well as Godbound. I'd mention Everway, but if there are less than a dozen people playing Godbound then there's literally no one in the world who is still playing Everway.
It's not actually that close to Exalted. Exalted is a very specific setting, and this is more of a grab-bag of cultures and inspirations. If you've ever heard "Exalted is bronze-age sword and sandals superheroes" and then been disappointed to see that the definition of superhero is apparently just "guy who is exaggeratedly good at an ordinary thing", this is the system you pick if you want to teleport, shoot lightning, or turn into a griffon.
It's one of those systems where you want your AC to be as low as possible. Some people like that. Personally I never played ADnD so I don't have any nostalgia invested in it.
Landon Sanders
The mixed bag setting is actually pretty fun.
The south east is basically Mayans, but they also have combat mecha because magic is gods and gods are technology.
Speaking of magic being gods and also the title of the game, there's a nation of fedoratheists. The Glorious People's Republic of Euphoria (not the actual name) is where you go if you want to indulge your "stop oppressing my special snowflake" concept, since all the PCs are demigods. I'm being down on these guys, and the setting presents them as colossal dicks, but this is also a setting where God is either dead or absent, the angels are liars and dicks and at war with humans, and hell is sort of complicated but still basically awful.
There's an island where they have modern technology and culture and the internet. It's next to Caveman land, which is next to Da Vinci land, which is next to The Witcher and Arabian Nights and Roman Empire Land, which is next to three different types of Asia land (empire, mongols and pirates). It sort of makes sense, but only because of magic.
It's all a bit bonkers. I know the Exalted comparison keeps coming up in what I'm writing, but it's closer to the 1d4chan version of Exalted ("dinosaurs that piss heroin!") than the actual Exalted setting.
Honestly, I don't know why anyone wouldn't read a free PDF, but apparently not everyone likes reading RPGs as much as me. Hopefully someone will actually have something to say beyond the aforementioned Pathfinder Class meme. If not, this'll be another one of those games that people occasionally mention but no one actually plays.
Logan Powell
>It's another "Buttblasted Pathfag tries to poison the well against Godbound" episode
How can one fucking guy be so triggered by some niche RPG?
Caleb Russell
OP you evaded my filter. You rotten son of a bitch.
Tyler Flores
>the angels are liars and dicks and at war with humans To be fair to the angels, humanity raided heaven and thus shattered reality allowing the things-which-should-not-be a way in.
Nathaniel Long
I've been running a game with this system and I really enjoy how it invites the players to add to the world building in a big way. The dominion system and the faction system let PCs really shape the world on a bigger scale and encourages constantly pursuing new goals and changing the world. Dominion is the currency that players are rewarded for playing to their character concepts and accomplishing meaningful goals. It represents their divine authority over reality and gives them an ability to change the Facts of the world.
Evan Watson
It's Probable change to make a sloppy militia out of a group of villagers in a few days, and would cost little dominion.
It's Improbable to make them a trained fighting force out of them in a day and would cost more dominion.
It'd be Impossible to make a group of peasants into bad ass warriors with just one day and would represent a large expenditure of dominion and possibly require some additional legwork.
These tiers of probability and possibility are determined by the skill set of the actors making the change, which means that in the villagers into warriors example for a Godbound of the Sword Word would be able to fairly easily whip the peasants into a crack squad of killers.
Christopher Robinson
Note that there is inconsistency between what is written in the book and what the designer had actually intended.
What is written in the book, in page 129: >A change that is modest and plausible, that does not require violating the laws of nature or angering local powers is a Plausible change. >Implausible changes that require bending the rules of nature or human behavior are Improbable >Extraordinary changes that are politically unthinkable or physically impossible are Impossible
Page 131: >Teaching people common skills up to an adequate level of proficiency is usually a Plausible change >Teaching people rare or esoteric skills or extremely pronounced expertise in a normal field is usually an Improbable change >Creating new beings, building automatons, or gifting people with outright impossible abilities qualifies as an Impossible change
Page 132: >If a structure, enchantment or technology is something that the locals could have built with their available knowledge, low magic practitioners, and manpower, then it’s a Plausible change >If a structure, magic or technology is something that at least one culture in the realm could theoretically have built, or if it’s just very much larger than the available materials or manpower would seem to allow, then it’s an Improbable change >Actually creating Impossible technology, exotic magical enchantments, or structures that defy the basic laws of nature has a x4 difficulty modifier
Also from page 132: >Altering the peripheral details of a society or goading a political force into making a plausible decision qualifies as a Plausible change >upsetting changes can be pushed through, albeit the change then becomes Improbable >Truly unthinkable alterations to a society or political situation count as impossibilities, with a x4 difficulty modifier
Luke Perry
What the designer actually intended: plus.google.com/ NicholasGoodman/posts/Ewzvvrjx4bG >Plausible for the actor's existing resources and abilities. If you've got a gift that lets you conjure buildings with a fingersnap, then building a town in the middle of nowhere is plausible. If you're a faction with a bunch of experienced masons in your population, then building a nicely-paved road network is going to be plausible. As mentioned, if you can see the actor doing it without breaking any rules of reality or believability, then it's probably plausible.
My favorite combination for affecting the world during downtime is the Artifice Word, Ten Thousand Tools (lesser gift), and Perpetual Perfection (greater gift).
With these simple build components alone, a character is completely justified in being capable of mass-producing vast quantities of useful goods for a society, up to and including an arbitrarily high amount of +1 weapons and +1 regalia armor and shields.
From a setting-wide perspective, Artifice really does seem to be the "most important" of the Words. It is the best at operating godwalker facilities, creating artifacts of all kinds, and, most importantly, repairing celestial engines.
Tyler Ortiz
Artifice is a fun word, but my favorite word is fire. It's a fairly straight forward word, but there is room for creativity with it's miracles, and the changes you can enact.
One of my favorite recent examples is one player. Causing the hearths in a village to be able to light and extinguish at a word which is a 1 Dominion cost Plausible change for a Godbound with the Fire Word and a good way to win the common folk to your side.
Blake Allen
Either include a link or shut up and fuck off
Elijah Turner
>Fire, Sun, and Sword >Imitate Sapphire Wings using Fire or Sun >You are now the closest thing a character can possibly be to an angel
