It was cold and dark and the snow had melted just enough that it was running into Smithen's boots. On a night like this he would have much rather been tucked away by the fire with a nice cup of wine, he'd been saving a bottle for just such a night as this, it had cost him a whole weeks pay. But no, here he was in a dark alley on Halert's Row waiting for a woman who was most certainly not interested in a tryst, at least not with him.

Why? Smithen's had asked himself a few times despite already knowing. The pair of yellow eyes peering down from the second floor window ledge were answer enough. Smithen's had gotten the call, more a whispered request, and he'd answered. That's what one did when a god asked. "She plans to burn down her lover's home, sooth her." At least for a god it was straight forward enough, even if a few of the details were vague.

There was no mistaking the 'she' on this cold and damp night though, storming down the street, the bottom inches of her dress soaked through with dingy melted snow, she came down the block with a torch in one hand a look that could kill. Clearing his throat, Smithen's recited the words he prepared inside his head, but he was already worried, her face wasn't the face of one willing to listen to kind words.

Then the wet hem of that dress caught on a snag and she went tumbling down, her torch snuffing out with a hiss in a puddle and the rest of her dress soaking through. Her expression of wrath broke down into tears and an opportunity for reason presented itself. To anyone else looking out their window that dark night it might have looked like a simple trip, but Smithen's had noticed how the ground reached up to snag her clothes, a small miracle from that yellow eyed observer up above. Gliding forward, Smithen's offered a hand and a smile, "It looks like you're having a rough night, care to tell me your story over a warm meal?" Soon she would be cursing the name of her former love into a cup of ale, her murderous intent drowned in tears and tea.

Hidden away up above, the yellow eyed hearth god grinned.

The Game Mission Statement

Hearth Gods is intended to be a god game on a micro scale, the idea is to tell intimate stories and have a level of detail that is often lost in broad scope god games. At its heart this game is built around two cores principles. 1) Creativity – The idea here is to end up building a vibrant city which is full of stories and history. What limitations that have been placed on the scope of the game and on the direct powers of the gods is there with the intent to foster creativity through boundaries rather than take away options. 2) Humanity – While there are gods and monsters, the game is intended to be about people at its core. These are gods that care whether little Susy gets accepted to be a silversmiths apprentice, or if the Tucker family survives a particularly brutal winter. In a more cosmic game these small tales of struggle wouldn’t even be a footnote, but here they make up the day to day adventures and your hearth gods should be invested in the outcome of these events. As the game master, I see my role as providing structure and giving out writing prompts rather than weaving an epic tale for the players to follow, how this city grows and inhabitants live their lives will progress based upon how you choose to proceed.

Look at the game as something of a soap opera from the perspective of small meddling imps. Success or failure; neither is as interesting the journey to get there.

Game Specs

I'll aim to update the game once a day. With that said, the ideal players for Hearth Gods are creative, proactive individuals. Some plot hooks will be provided by the GM, but ideally players will be coming up with some of their own too!

The game is currently accepting 0 more players. The ideal posting rating is somewhere between once a day or every other day. (There are plenty of slower paced RPOL games, lets aim for something a bit more brisk here!)

Core Game Components
Sandbox
Freeform
Narrative Driven
This message was last edited by the user at 01:02, Tue 20 Nov 2018.