Divine Code

Matter
Favors: Warfare
Alignment: Lawful
Element: Earth
Aura: Order and similarity
Purpose: To withstand destruction and decay
Interplay: Opposes Time’s attempts at change; resists attacks of Energy; forces Thought to be practical.
 
Energy
Favors: Mysticism
Alignment: Chaotic
Element: Fire
Aura: Disorder and Uniqueness
Purpose: Create more energy and activity
Interplay: Opposes Thoughts attempts to create order; resists the attacks of Time; forces Matter to change.
 
Time
Favors: Divinity
Alignment: Neutral
Element: Water
Aura: Continuous regular change.
Purpose: To promote change in all and maintain Time’s flow.
Interplay: Opposes Matter’s resistance to change; resists the existence of Thought; forces Energy to have duration.
 
Thought
Favors: The Unseen
Alignment: All
Element: Air
Aura: Purpose and meaning.
Purpose: To conceive and categorize all of existence.
Interplay: Opposes Energy’s outbursts; resists the limitations of Matter; forces Time into organization.
 
Entropy
Favors: Nothing
Alignment: None
Element: The Void
Aura: Conflict and Despair.
Purpose: To destroy everything in the multiverse, always making way for the new.
Interplay: Uses and opposes all other Spheres; destroys Matter, drains Energy, stops Time, prevents Thought.
 
 
The basic concept behind Primals is "primal energy." Primal energy (or "primal") is defined as being the most fundamental and most powerful energy in the universe. It trumps everything else -- magic, psionics, quantum, and physical forces are to primal as butter is to a hot knife. What makes a god a god is his ability to store and manipulate primal energy. Only gods have primal (though they can create artifacts and servitors invested with primal energy). The mightiest sorcerer in the world, who wields spells of earth-shaking power that even the gods don't know, will still lose in a confrontation with a god because 1 measly point of primal energy will go right through his best wards. More will be explained below on the comparison of Primal to other energies.


Gods are quantified by the amount of "primal base" they have. Primal base is their stable reserve of primal energy. Gods are classified in ranks according to the minimum necessary primal base to achieve that rank:

• Godling: 5 AP’s
  
• Demigod: 10 AP’s
  
• "Supported Demigod": 25 AP’s
  
• Lesser Deity: 40 AP’s
  
• Greater Deity: 55 AP’s
  
• Supreme Deity: 75+ AP’s
  

How do gods get primal base? First, advancing in rank automatically gives them the minimum necessary for that rank (I'll cover how they advance below). Secondly, they have to control planes (or Spheres of influence). Gods also accumulate more primal base over time; the more base you have, the more you accumulate.


What can you do with primal base? Well, "primal flux" is primal energy in unstable form. Gods get a daily allotment of primal flux. Most comes from their primal base (10%  or a quarter of their base AP rank of their base points per day, so a lesser god with a primal base of 60 would have 15 points of primal flux to play with every day). Gods also get primal flux from any planes they control (5 AP’s), from any holy sites consecrated to them, and from their worshippers. More worshippers mean more primal flux. Gods can also drain primal flux from captured primal artifacts, or from captured deities. Finally, in an emergency, a god can burn his primal base and convert it to primal flux. You can basically think of primal base as a god's "savings account," and primal flux as his "income," some of which is interest from his savings.
So what do you do with primal flux? You can't "invest" it, unfortunately; primal flux can't be converted directly to primal base. What you don't use, you lose.


First, primal flux is used to power any divine stunts the god wants to perform. In its raw form, it can be wielded as a devastating attack (called a primal blast) which will obliterate anything not protected with a primal shield. However, gods who know magic or have psionic powers or other abilities can use those powers, but "lace" them with a single point of primal. Thus, a god can cast a conventional fireball spell laced with a single point of primal flux, which will cause that fireball to work with 100% success, going right through any non-primal defenses. Likewise, your basic force wall spell laced with primal becomes immune to any non-primal attacks.
There are other powers particular to gods. They can exert their will directly to various effects, categorized as "omniscience" (being able to see or know things), "omnipotence" (basically, make a wish and have it happen), and "omnipresence" (being in multiple places at the same time). These powers cost primal flux, and for some advanced uses, primal base as well.


Gods can alter any planes they control, thus permitting the "home plane advantage" where the laws of physics (or magic, or anything else) operate in any manner the owner desires. This requires long-term investments of primal energy, and also a daily cost in primal flux to maintain.


Lastly, gods can create servants, all of which require primal energy to empower. Your typical cleric who receives a daily allotment of spells might cost a point or two of primal flux each day. But gods can also create more powerful servitors, beings who are themselves powered by primal energy. These beings take primal base to create, and a daily cost in primal flux to maintain. These can range all the way up to "supported demigods," who are demigods that are given primal energy by a more powerful god. Greater gods can even elevate mortals to godling status.


What makes a god "lesser," "greater" or "supreme"? A recently-ascended mortal starts out as a godling. He can smite any lesser creature with ease, but given his limited amount of primal energy, even mortals could overwhelm him with sheer numbers, and compared to a lesser god, he's a gnat. In order to become a demigod, a godling must gain a sphere of influence. This is what makes one a "God of -" something. Gaining a sphere requires accomplishing some great feat, going on a quest, and convincing others that you're notable in that area. Beating up a more powerful deity, for example, might allow one to secure "Strength" as a sphere, and thereafter you can be known as the "Demigod of Strength." Acquiring a sphere also requires an investment of primal base, but thereafter you can develop special divine abilities relating to your sphere.


Demigods become supported demigods either by gaining control of a plane, or by being supported by a more powerful deity. To ascend to the status of lesser god, a demigod must turn a plane he controls into his home plane. Once he does this, he makes an enormous leap in power (see above -- jumping from supported demigod to lesser god means going from 25 to 55 points of primal base!). Lesser gods become greater gods by controlling at least 5 planes. A supreme deity is a greater god who is acknowledged by the other gods in his pantheon as foremost among them.


Primal compared to other energies..(Flux needed to overwhelm given energy)
            Magic:                                     1 flux trumps all levels of magic.
            Akasa (aka, Pure Magik):        1 flux for every 10 AP’s of power in Magik.
            Psionics, Metafunctions:         1 flux for every 5 AP’s of power.
            Quantum:                                1 flux for every 3 AP’s of power.
                       
Note on lacing inherent powers.: A Primal can lace any power or ability he/she already has with their base. So say one had a fire-bolt mastered using Akasa and then laced it with flux; for every flux burned the fire-bolt would go up by 20AP’s of power. This number of flux burned is limited to the Primals rank:


Godling                                1 flux
Demigod                              3 flux
Supported Demigod             5 flux 
Lesser Deity                         10 flux
Greater Deity                      20 flux
           
 
Various abilities become possible as gods ascend in rank; the more potent uses of "omni"-powers are only available to lesser or greater gods, for example. Higher-ranking deities can also acquire multiple spheres of influence.



Sphere Factors for Primal effects

Sphere of            Sphere of Power Primal multiplier

Immortal             Matter      Energy      Time          Thought

Matter                    1                  8              4                    2

Energy                    2                  1               8                    4

Time                        4                  2               1                    8

Thought                 8                  4               2                    1





Sphere                    Primary                      Secondary                Tertiary

Matter                        Strength                     Stamina                     Dexterity

Energy                        Intelligence               Charisma                   Stamina

Time                            Wits                             Strength                     Charisma

Thought                      Dexterity                    Intelligence               Wits








Sphere                    Primary                      Secondary                Tertiary

Matter                        Wits                             Charisma                   Intelligence

Energy                        Dexterity                    Strength                     Wits

Time                            Stamina                     Intelligence               Dexterity



Thought                      Strength                     Stamina                     Charisma







Divine Ranks
            Deities naturally fall into varying levels of power we will call ranks. As Deities grow in power, take control of more planes, and develop their Spheres of influence and religions (or belief), they increase their ranking. Some of the Ranks will only come with time and age of the immortal. In this way, the deity gains more abilities and access to larger reservoirs of Primal energy, and each increase in rank is associated with an increase in primal Base.
 
In each of the below ranks, there are subdivisions or “Subtitles” for the given Deity. For instance, one has to attain all the titles within each Rank to get to the next levels. So one will eventually be called Full Hierarch Supreme Deity. The Titles are as follows:    
                                                            Population*
Initiate                                                       7
Temporal                                                    100
High Temporal                                            20
Celestial                                                     80
High Celestial                                             15
Empyreal                                                    60
High Empyreal                                             8
Eternal                                                       27
High Eternal                                                2
Hierarch                                                      2
Full Hierarch                                                1
*Population refers to the numbers within a Plane or Pantheon. Note that becoming a part of a pantheon would allow you to attain higher ranks if the plane itself would not support it.
 
 
 
Godlings                          
Godlings are at the low end of the divine world. Sometimes children of the divine are in this class. They have both Base and flux but in small quantities and thus must be wary around “mere mortals.” Godlings are often used as intermediaries between their ranking Deity and their beliefs officials.
 
Demigods                     
 Once a godling develops mastery over one sphere, it becomes a Demigod. In essence, the godling has begun weaving its essence into the fabric of reality. Demigods are generally considered too valuable to leave alone to their own means and sacrifice lightly. Their superior often closely watches them and it is safe to assume that where a Demigod is involved, there is probably a lesser or Greater Deity giving a close, watching eye.
 
 
Supported   Demigods
 A supported demigod has either taken control of a plane of existence or is being supported by a higher ranking deity. Supported Demigods have typically begun to organize their belief and followers in earnest. While Godlings and Demigods may have some small number of followers and a few minor temples, supported demigods are likely to begin large-scale missionaries efforts to spread their belief to other lands and cultures.
 
Lesser Deities       
 At the moment a supported demigod transforms a controlled plane into a home plane, he become a lesser deity. This rank provides the most significant increase in primal base; this reflects the deities’ new role as an established peer in the divine ranks. Lesser Deities may be outranked occasionally, but they are never to be taken for granted. It is at this point that deities get offered a role in a pantheon or Divine counsel. Lesser Deities will also break all ties with mortals and assign these responsibilities to a godling or a minion.
 
Greater Deity              
Once a lesser deity gains control over 5 planes, he becomes a Greater Deity. These Deities are the definitive authorities in their spheres of influence, at least within their pantheon, and it is at this point they can attain all the divine abilities available to deities. Needless to say, Greater Deities are respected and feared; even among divine beings, they are never taken lightly.  By the time deities are this rank, they will undoubtedly have several artifacts, minions, demigods, servitors, and planes, and will likely command vast armies and political power.
 
Supreme Deities       
Greater Deities who have selected to lead divine-level political organizations such as pantheons or councils are Supreme Deities. This position can only be gained with other deities’ support and cooperation.
 


 
Enhancing Ability Scores
            A deity can raise his scores on any of his attributes at any time. His rank and title will determine to what extent it can be done.
 
                        All costs are per point
Rank                                      Perm Base    Temp Flux     Max Score
Godling                                500                 100                             +1      
Demigod                              1000               200                             +2
Supported Demigod              2000               400                             +3
Lesser Deity                         4000               800                             +5
Greater Deity                       8000               1600                           +8
 
Title bonuses:  add +1 to the Max score, up to double, per title within the given rank.
1             Temporal
2             Celestial
3             Empyreal
4             Eternal
5             Hierarch