[Genres]

             Mythological

The mythological genre is a subgenre of fantasy. Fantasy features magic (or magic under a different name, like "psionics") in the setting. Magic allows characters to accomplish things they normally couldn't. But the mythological genre takes that concept and turns it up a notch. Instead of portraying mortals in a made up magical world, characters in the mythological genre play in a setting of real world myth, possibly one penned by Homer (The Iliad and the Odyssey), Aesop (the fables saved by the historian Herodotus), Aeschylus (Prometheus Bound, Agamemnon, The Libation Bearers, and The Eumenides), Euripides (The Trojan Women, The Bacchae, Medea, Helen, Andromache, Electra, Heracles), Sophocles, (Oedipus, Electra, and Antigone), and many more Greek playwrights. Of course, myths other than those inspired by the Greeks are entirely suitable for the mythological genre. For instance, the stories told of the Norse gods are just as rife with interpersonal conflict as those told about the Greek gods; witness how one Marvel comic franchise has spun those stories into mythological gold.

A defining characteristic of mythological fantasy revolves around the active presence of gods in the world, and how their plans affect regular people. Which means that characters in a mythological setting will not only have the opportunity to interact with divine beings; they may even be divine beings.

Note that just because the mythological genre has its origin in the far past, the genre could easily be set in the modern world, with gods secretly (or not so secretly) dwelling among us. Some amazing examples of this concept include American Gods by Neil Gaiman and The Percy Jackson and the Olympians books by Rick Riordan. But far future settings that include ancient mythological beings are also something that fiction has done well: examples include the enduring Brother to Demons, Brother to Gods by Jack Williamson and the amazing Dan Simmons books Ilium and Olympos.

CREATING A MYTHOLOGICAL SETTING

Almost everything true for creating a fantasy setting is true for creating a mythological one. Examples of fantasy settings in the real world are rife. (If you're reading this, it's likely you've played a fantasy RPG.) The difference in a mythological setting is one of tone, focus, and theme.

But before we explore theme, you need to figure out who your main mythological figures are. Is it Zeus and other associated entities? Gods from a different mythological pantheon, or gods you make up yourself? Whatever the case, your next step is to determine what associations these various NPC gods have between them, what each of them wants, and how far each might be willing to go to get it. What powers can they draw on? Who are their enemies? Remember that not all mythological entities are gods; some might be devastating monsters.

Once you know who the major divine entities are, you can determine the status of your world. Is it at peace or on the verge of war? For instance, consider the Greek Titanomachy, where the older generation of gods (the Titans) were cast down in a series of wars by the newer generation of gods (the Olympians). A theme that might emerge in such a setting is one of perseverance, or the importance of standing up for what's right, or perhaps the inevitable end that faces all things.

When our mythological setting book called Gods Of the Fall was written, the theme that developed was simple: though the world is broken, hope remains. The arbiters of that hope are the PCs.

Now that you have a theme don't let all your work go to waste. Recognize that an overt theme might be asking too much of the players to live up to unless you provide explicit, in-world help. If you want your game to unfold according to your theme, players need easy tools to help them understand their role. A great tool in a mythological setting is the concept of prophecy. Prophecies from gods of Fate and Destiny (or from the Oracle in Delphi) can give the PCs what they need.

For instance, if your theme is "the importance of perseverance" you might develop a series of prophecies that speak of enduring pain, offering redemption even for the wicked, helping the weak to survive, and so on.

What would the prophecies be in your mythological world?

RUNNING A MYTHOLOGICAL GAME

Running a mythological game probably means embracing high-powered PCs and equally impressive NPCs. If you're going to let PCs parlay with gods or even become gods, they need some power. Using the power shifts (or "divine" shifts and accompanying dominions as is suggested in Gods of the Fall) is one way to gradually ramp characters into godlike relevance. If you're using power shifts, increasing the difficulty to 15 instead of 10 is something to consider. What was impossible for mortals is not for divine entities. If you do this, creature levels should also be able to rise above 10.

If you're running your mythological game in a larger fantasy setting, clearly defined roles for good and evil are expected. However, if you're mashing up your mythological game in a modern or sci-fi setting, figuring out which divine NPCs and creatures are good and which are evil might be part of the fun. For instance, a god of the ancient world transposed to the modern setting who doesn't learn to change with the times is probably nothing less than a horrific monster.

In a standard fantasy game, the expectation for PCs doesn't usually demand anything other than a willingness to go on adventures, explore strange places, and in high-minded groups, to oppose evil and help the downtrodden, though sometimes characters are more concerned about how much gold and treasure they accumulate. Which is great for standard fantasy.

A mythological game assumes that the stakes the PCs are ultimately playing for are of extreme importance. The fate of the world itself may eventually come into the balance. Tales of what the PCs do will eventually become the myths in a later age. If the PCs succeed in the quests presented to them, they'll become names that are never forgotten. All of which means that the adventures created for mythological games should always have some tie to the much larger epic narrative; an individual adventure can be a small story, but it should be clear that the creatures fought, the clues found, or some other elements have ties to something far larger.

For example, if the PCs find themselves defending a mother in childbirth who comes under attack by wave after wave of increasingly hostile creatures, those creature shouldn't simply be marauding orcs or hungry wolves. In a mythological game, those creatures are probably called by an unseen god jealous of the unborn child. This unseen power seeks to prevent the birth of a potential competitor. The links to this unseen power may not be apparent when the attacks first start, but PCs should be able to untangle the connection by the time they succeed on their task.

SUGGESTED TYPES FOR A MYTHOLOGICAL GAME

SUGGESTED FOCI FOR A MYTHOLOGICAL GAME

SUGGESTED CREATURES AND NPCS FOR A MYTHOLOGICAL GAME

OTHER CREATURES AND NPCS FOR A MYTHOLOGICAL GAME

MYTHOLOGICAL ARTIFACTS

SPEAR OF FATE

Level: 12
Form: Large spear intricately carved with divine symbols

Effect: This spear functions as a normal weapon of its type. It is so well crafted and carved with magic runes of such power that it never misses. No attack roll is necessary for the wielder to hit with it. If a PC rolls in hopes of achieving a special effect but gets a 1, the spear still hits the target (though a GM Intrusion is still appropriate). If the user defeats an enemy with the spear, the wielder learns a secret about the defeated foe related to a topic the wielder names.

Depletion: 1 in 1d20

STORM HAMMER

Level: 12
Form: Medium hammer with oversize head

Effect: This hammer functions as a normal weapon of its type and the difficulty of attacks made with it is decreased by one step. Also, the wielder can make a long-range lightning attack on a target and all creatures within immediate range of the target that inflicts damage equal to the artifact level. Alternatively, every other round they can throw the hammer at a single foe within long range, inflicting double the artifact level in damage. Once thrown, the hammer returns to the wielder. The wielder can activate the hammer and gain the ability to fly a long-range each round while holding it. This ability lasts for ten minutes. Finally, the wielder can use the hammer to travel between alternate dimensions they have previously visited.

Depletion: 1 in 1d20

SWORD OF DEATH

Level: 13
Form: Greatsword with night-black blade

Effect: This sword functions as a normal weapon of its type. In addition, it instantly kills any level 1 or level 2 creatures it hits. To kill more powerful creatures, instead of applying Effort to decrease the difficulty of the attack, the wielder can apply Effort to increase the maximum level of the target. Thus, to instantly kill a level 5 target (three levels above the normal limit), the wielder must apply three levels of Effort. The souls of creatures killed by the weapon are stored in the blade.

Depletion: 1 in 1d20

THUNDERBOLT

Level: 13
Form: A sizzling bolt of lightning

Effect: This weapon functions as a normal spear, but holding it requires a wielder to succeed on a difficulty 5 Intellect ask to avoid taking 7 points of electricity damage each round for two rounds. The difficulty of attacks made with it is decreased by one step. In addition, the wielder can make a long-range lightning attack on a target and all creatures within immediate range of the target that inflicts damage equal to the artifact level. Once thrown, the bolt returns to the wielder, ready to be used the next round.

Depletion: 1 in 1d20

RACIAL DESCRIPTORS

In a mythological setting, some GMs may want players to be able to choose more extreme racial options. Below are a couple possibilities.

HELBORN

Demons of the underworld sometimes escape. When they do, they can taint human bloodlines. Things like you are the result of such unnatural unions. Part human and part something else, you are an orphan of a supernatural dalliance. Thanks to your unsettling appearance, you've probably been forced to make your own way in a world that often fears and resents you. Some of your kin have large horns, tails, and pointed teeth. Others are more subtle or more obvious in their differences–a shadow of a knife-edge in their face and a touch that withers normal plants, a little too much fire in their eyes and a scent of ash in the air, a forked tongue, goatlike legs, or the inability to cast a shadow. Work with the GM on your particular helborn appearance.

Helborns are sometimes called cambions.

You gain the following characteristics.

• Devious: +2 to your Intellect Pool. Skill: You are trained in tasks related to magic lore and lore of the underworld.
• Incombustible: +3 to Armor against damage from fire only.
• Helborn Magic: You are inherently magical. Choose one tier 1 ability from the list of foci for a mythological game provided by your GM. You gain that ability as part of your helborn heritage.
• Inner Evil: You sometimes lose control and risk hurting your allies. When you roll a 1, the GM has the option to intrude by indicating you lose control. Once you've lost control, you attack any and every living creature within short range. You can't spend Intellect points for any reason other than to try to regain control (a difficulty 2 task). After you regain control, you suffer a –1 penalty to all rolls for one hour.
• Inability: People distrust you. The difficulty of any task you attempt to persuade or deceive is increased by one step.

Initial Link to the Starting Adventure

From the following list of options, choose how you became involved in the first adventure.

1. You were nearly beaten to death by people who didn't like your look, but the PCs found and revived you.
2. The PCs hired you for your knowledge of magic.
3. Every so often you get visions of people trapped in the underworld. You tracked those people down and found the PCs who'd never visited the underworld. Yet.
4. Your situation at home became untenable because of how people reacted to your looks. You joined the PCs to get away.

GIANT

You stand at least 12 feet (4 m) tall, and tower over everyone around you. Whether you are a full-blooded giant or merely have giant heritage from large ancestors, you're massive. Always large for your age, it only became an issue once you reached puberty and topped 7 feet (2 m) in height, and kept growing from there.

You have the following characteristics:

• Tough: +4 to your Might Pool.
• Mass And Strength: You inflict +1 points of damage with your melee attacks and attacks with thrown weapons.
• Breaker: The difficulty of tasks related to breaking things by smashing them is reduced by one step.
• Inability: You're too large to accomplish normal things. The difficulty of tasks related to initiative, stealth and fine manipulation of any sort (such as lockpicking or repair tasks) is increased by one step.

Additional Equipment

You have a heavy weapon of your choice.

Initial Link to the Starting Adventure

From the following list of options, choose how you became involved in the first adventure.

• 1. You fished the PCs out of a deep hole they'd fallen into while exploring.
• 2. You were the PC's guide in the land of giants and stayed with them afterward.
• 3. The PCs helped you escape a nether realm where other giants were imprisoned by the gods.
• 4. You protected the PCs from sight by hiding them behind your bulk when they were on the run.