Lords of Olympus: A New Diceless Game in the works, might be of interest to some here

[RPGPundit]

From today's blog entry:

My Super-Secret Project, REVEALED!

I've mentioned this project a few times before, and now we're ready to talk a bit more about it.  It is still very much in the early writing stages, as we slog along with it, but so far I've gotten the basic character creation and Powers sections pretty much done.

The game is called Lords of Olympus, folks, and its going to be a high-powered Diceless RPG where the players get to play the sons and daughters of the Olympian Gods, or the fallen Titans, and get caught up in the internecine conflicts between these two groups, as well as the mysterious and inhuman Primordials.
The game features a multiverse spanning setting, where only those of divine blood can access the powers to easily travel from one reality to another, along the roads of worlds that lead from Olympus, the underwater realms of Poseidon, or the Underworld. There are countless earths, and countless other worlds including the realms of the gods; and player characters can carve out their own stake in one or more of these realms, and/or get caught up in the Machiavellian plotting, misdeeds, and open conflicts of their vast and quarrelsome family.

The game system features tried-and-true principle of Diceless play: players create their characters as a group, engaging in a Bidding War to determine who gets 1st, 2nd, 3rd Class, etc. in the four different abilities; as well as using remaining points to purchase powers, realms, and Luck.  Characters all start at levels of great personal power, compared to ordinary mortals or even great heroes (indeed, you can choose to buy down your ability scores to Mortal Class (-25) or Heroic Class (-10).

The game will include scores of advice on running Lords of Olympus, as well as detailed information on the important places and listings of all the major Olympians, Titans and Primordials that constitute the complex family tree of the Player Character's lineages.

The game is about a third of the way along right now (I can't tell you quite how large it'll be, but it'll very easily clock in at least at a couple of hundred pages), but the publisher is already secured, and on top of it all, there's a very good chance we're going to be making it some kind of "Open" game.  Look for information from Precis Intermedia in the very near future, or keep reading this blog for more information.

Wish me luck, and here's hoping Lords of Olympus will trigger a "renaissance" of the right kind of Diceless play.

RPGPundit

Currently Smoking: Castello 4k Collection Canadian + Planta's Image Latakia

[Hieronymous Rex]

Oddly, I had a similar a few days ago. However, in my version, you wouldn't play the offspring of the gods; having the right stats qualified you to be the Olympic gods ("I'm first in Psyche, so I'm taking Apollo").

[finarvyn]

Oddly, I had a similar a few days ago. However, in my version, you wouldn't play the offspring of the gods; having the right stats qualified you to be the Olympic gods ("I'm first in Psyche, so I'm taking Apollo").

I've done that before, and it seems to work pretty well. Especially since folks are pretty familiar with the Greek/Roman mythos and that tends to help them get into persona that much faster.

[steelmax73]

can I preorder

[RPGPundit]

Oddly, I had a similar a few days ago. However, in my version, you wouldn't play the offspring of the gods; having the right stats qualified you to be the Olympic gods ("I'm first in Psyche, so I'm taking Apollo").

Well, one could probably do that in Lords of Olympus, in a couple of ways; there'll be outlines of all the Gods of Olympus, so in theory someone could just pick the deity they want to play (though some gods are vastly more powerful than others).
The other is creating characters as you described, but then they'd probably need more than 100 points to start with.

RPGPundit

[RPGPundit]

I've done that before, and it seems to work pretty well. Especially since folks are pretty familiar with the Greek/Roman mythos and that tends to help them get into persona that much faster.

That's why I felt the context of greek mythology was the best way (well, the second best way really, but the best way was not available to me) of getting people acquainted with the Diceless play.

RPGPundit

[finarvyn]

Well I'm looking forward to seeing what you end up with.

[RPGPundit]

Well I'm looking forward to seeing what you end up with.

Thank you!

RPGPundit

[RPGPundit]

can I preorder

Not quite yet. But I'll note that Lords of Olympus will not be a "patronage" project, its a full-on go, barring anything majorly unexpected.

Our game will be a NEW game with all the feel of the original Diceless game, it will be based on the power and accessibility of Greek mythology (with some interesting twists, including the vast playing field of the multiverse) and most significantly, it will be an Open game which we hope others will be able to use as the rules engine (and maybe setting inspiration) with which to create their own new diceless products, ushering in a revival.

RPGPundit

[Rubio]

Well, with a name like "Lords of Olympus", I imagine that the main idea is equating the Greek pantheon with the Amberites? For an intrigue-laden game, I feel like that would work pretty well as they were pretty much a petty, bickering, self-serving lot of immortals, and when you add all the bastard spawn of Zeus to the olympian list... heh.

Are the Olympians the only game in town (so to speak)? I've always had a bit of a soft spot for the Norse as well.

[Werekoala]

That's why I felt the context of greek mythology was the best way (well, the second best way really, but the best way was not available to me) of getting people acquainted with the Diceless play.

This is the main reason I'll be following this development, because none of my players know a lick about Amber, but we're all at least passingly familiar with Greek myth.

[finarvyn]

Are the Olympians the only game in town (so to speak)? I've always had a bit of a soft spot for the Norse as well.

I would think that once the system is set, applying it to other mythological groups would be pretty easy. I kind of like the Egyptian mythos.

[RPGPundit]

Well, with a name like "Lords of Olympus", I imagine that the main idea is equating the Greek pantheon with the Amberites? For an intrigue-laden game, I feel like that would work pretty well as they were pretty much a petty, bickering, self-serving lot of immortals, and when you add all the bastard spawn of Zeus to the olympian list... heh.

Not just the spawn of Zeus, but also the two older generations: the Titans and the Primordials.  The former are badasses (albeit who lost the big war) and the latter aren't even really human (in the sense that, say, the Olympian Gods are).

But yes, on top of that you have all the little demi-gods and monstrosities, and places of legend; its a very rich setting.

Are the Olympians the only game in town (so to speak)? I've always had a bit of a soft spot for the Norse as well.

In the basic default concept of the setting, the Olympian gods are the only pantheon in town. However, one of the campaign scenarios the game will consider is the possibility of another pantheon appearing and vying for control over the multiverse.

RPGPundit

[Werekoala]

Would it do something like "demi-gods" along the lines of Hercules, or is it pretty much only going to work for the Big Boys?

[RPGPundit]

Would it do something like "demi-gods" along the lines of Hercules, or is it pretty much only going to work for the Big Boys?

The Player Characters are assumed to be children of the Gods, technically Gods themselves, but much less powerful than the elder Olympians. So Hercules would be in their power level (at least, back when he was in his adventurer phase), whereas the characters would be vastly more powerful than mortal heroes (a starting character ought to be able to kick Achilles' ass, or Batman's, or any other mortal hero you can think of).

RPGPundit