Either Needed Rain of the Gods (Power-Scaling Fantasy)

[notlydialovelace]

And yes, it's going to be more an open-world sort of sandbox rather than a formal tournament. Not to say there will be no clashes, but they won't happen for any reason other than the wishes of the players. There might be motivating factors like factional divides, grudges, and 'testing one's prowess', and so forth, against a worthy opponent. But any fights will be opt-in, as much as any romantic involvements.

 

[Vasara Glyndark]

How can they get the organ back if it is eaten? Between chewing and stomach acids I doubt there would be much left after a day.

I am thinking the Theocracy is who employs my character.

 

[Miss December]

The way I read it was they cannot get the organ back after consumption.

 

[Vasara Glyndark]

The way I read it was they cannot get the organ back after consumption.

I misread this part: not that they can get the organ back afterwards,

 

[OrganicIntelligence]

There wouldn't be a formal scale or rank for Organ-Bearers directly, but I think there would be a more established system, perhaps informal, for classifying the expected potency of the Organs themselves. You would always get deviations between the relative grade of two Organs and the relative strength of their eventual bearers, since the powers are only vaguely predictable in effects and very hard to pre-judge the magnitude of. Even two people who imbibe twin organs of the same god may end up with different powers, or different levels of a very similar power-set.

If I might make a suggestion for such a ranking system, given it's an evil medieval church:

Grade I: E (Eximia*)
Grade II: S (Superior)
Grade III: M (Mediocris*)
Grade IV: I (Inferior)
Grade V: N (Nequam*)

* Latin for exceptional, average, and worthless respectively.

In terms of 'would X beat Y in a fight', that's largely more matchup-dependent than a raw number. Sort of Pokemon typing Rock-Paper-Scissors rules, but much more free-form. And you could get stalemate matchups, e.g. unstoppable force and immovable object deal-ios.

I can imagine Jasper's sonic attacks might be able to shatter Freyja's bone-armour. Hopefully they're on the same side..

I think the primary reason for classification would be driven by the Theocracy, since they have the largest stockpile. In order to respond to the various chess-moves of other factions, they need to gauge how valuable an Organ is to them and how willing they are to potentially waste it, like sacricificing a useful pawn to a bishop (chess, not religious) or sending a queen (chess) on a doomed mission. So they would want to have a basic expectation of how potential power they are using in creating a new Bearer, and only after the fact, whether their choise of God-Vessel has enough strength to be worthy of the Organ that they used---not that they can get the organ back afterwards, certainly, but in terms of bolstering or reallocating them depending on whether they are not powerful enough, or too powerful to risk losing to an otherwise simple threat.

I can see the Theocracy developing a one-sided grudge again Freyja if they decide having a rogue organ-bearer like her running around casually flouting their authority is a problem. She doesn't particularly care - she's just hunting the trail of Balor, and the Theocracy keeps getting in her way. Leading possibly to some frustration on their part when they keep sending valuable organ bearers after her and she keeps killing them.

 

[Miss December]

Spoiler: The Saint of Ruin

The Saint of Ruin - The Blood of a God
"Drink of me, and be healed. But beware—for my miracles do not come without cost."

Organ Consumed
•The Bone Marrow of a Slain Goddess, taken from the pelvic bone, the seat of creation and life.
•It was forced upon her in a moment of crisis—whether as an act of salvation or desecration depends on who tells the story.
•Now, her very bones produce a never-ending flow of divine blood, making her a living font of power and miracles.

Power – The Saint Who Bleeds Creation
•Her blood is a divine catalyst—it heals wounds and purifies sickness to those who consume it.
•It can restore fertility, cure the incurable, and bless warriors with divine resilience.
•Even her touch carries power—a hand pressed to the forehead can ease pain, lift exhaustion, or restore vitality.

The Theocracy's Lie – The Saint's Divine Burden
"She is not an Organ-Bearer. She is no mere mortal. She is a miracle—proof of the gods' will made flesh."

•The Theocracy claims she is a holy miracle, not an Organ-Bearer. Her existence is framed as a divine mystery, an anointed vessel of the gods' mercy.
•To acknowledge the truth—that she was made, not chosen—would be heresy, an open contradiction of doctrine.
•As a result, her nature is hidden, her power rationed, and her blood treated as a sacred resource that only the Theocracy may bestow upon the "worthy."
•Her survival is not her own—she is kept secluded, veiled, and surrounded by guards who enforce the illusion of her divinity and purity.

The Drawback – The Saint's Curse
"Blessed are those who drink of the Saint's blood, for they will know the touch of the divine. But beware—for no rebirth comes without transformation."

Her blood does not simply heal—it remakes. Those who drink of her gift are changed, whether they desire it or not.

1. The Mark of Divinity – No One Remains The Same
•The marrow she consumed was from a goddess of fertility, creation, and transformation—and so her blood reshapes what it touches.
•Those who drink too much may develop inhuman traits—their bodies trying to mold themselves into something more divine, more monstrous, or something in between.
•monstrous mutations, sprouting wings, extra eyes, or glowing veins as their bodies struggle to contain divinity.
•A few experience divine madness, speaking in tongues, hearing voices, or becoming lost in visions of gods long dead.

2. The Binding of a Living Relic
•Because of her power, she is never truly free—she is seen as a resource, not a person.
•The Theocracy controls access to her, rationing her miracles to ensure their authority remains absolute.
•She is guarded at all times, her very bones considered too valuable to risk falling into enemy hands.

3. The Gilded Cage of the Divine
•To the faithful, she is a holy figure, a living font of mercy.
•To the powerful, she is a living artifact, a tool to enforce obedience and keep rivals in check.
•She does not know what she is anymore—a saint, a prisoner, or simply an abomination wrapped in silk and prayer.

Appearance & Presence
•Her bones are sacred—when glimpsed beneath her flesh, they shimmer like pearl and gold, as if sculpted from divine light.
•When wounded, she does not bleed normally—her blood flows luminously, shimmering like liquid starlight.
•Her presence is overwhelming—standing near her feels like being in the eye of a storm, both soothing and unsettling.

Character Struggles
•She was a priestess, not a warrior. She was meant to pray, guide, and serve—but now she is a commodity to be bled, a miracle to be harvested.
•She is both revered and feared. Some worship her, some seek to use her, and others whisper that she is not meant to exist at all.
•She wrestles with guilt—every time she grants her gift, she risks changing people in ways they never asked for.
•She is a prisoner in a temple of worship. The Theocracy keeps her in silken robes and gold-threaded veils, but the chains remain.
•She wonders if she should escape. But if she does, what happens to the faithful who believe in her? The sick who need her?

Hooks for the Game
•A faction may seek to free her—but is it for her sake, or do they simply wish to own her power for themselves?
•A Theocracy official starts questioning the truth—if she is not truly divine, then what else is the Church hiding?
•Someone drinks too much of her blood and transforms into something unnatural, sparking rumors that her gift may be more of a curse.
•She meets another Organ-Bearer who offers her a choice: What if you didn't have to serve anyone? What if you could be free?

 

[notlydialovelace]

If I might make a suggestion for such a ranking system, given it's an evil medieval church:

Grade I: E (Eximia*)
Grade II: S (Superior)
Grade III: M (Mediocris*)
Grade IV: I (Inferior)
Grade V: N (Nequam*)

* Latin for exceptional, average, and worthless respectively.

Absolutely cool going with this classification, thanks for the inspo!

I can imagine Jasper's sonic attacks might be able to shatter Freyja's bone-armour. Hopefully they're on the same side..

I'd say something ominous but honestly don't have any preconceived notions of who's going to be up against whom faction-wise.

I can see the Theocracy developing a one-sided grudge again Freyja if they decide having a rogue organ-bearer like her running around casually flouting their authority is a problem. She doesn't particularly care - she's just hunting the trail of Balor, and the Theocracy keeps getting in her way. Leading possibly to some frustration on their part when they keep sending valuable organ bearers after her and she keeps killing them.

The theocracy isn't the only faction that has organ-bearers on their side, but they are certainly the most militant group about regulating them and denouncing their existence as profane, even despite their own secret machinations. No one else is in a position of enough power to court enemies of rogue organ-bearers, but that isn't to say that non-Theocracy Organ-Bearers will simply live-and-let-live if Freyja poses a perceived threat to their or their factions's interests.

 

[OrganicIntelligence]

Spoiler: The Saint of Ruin

The Saint of Ruin - The Blood of a God
"Drink of me, and be healed. But beware—for my miracles do not come without cost."

Organ Consumed
•The Bone Marrow of a Slain Goddess, taken from the pelvic bone, the seat of creation and life.
•It was forced upon her in a moment of crisis—whether as an act of salvation or desecration depends on who tells the story.
•Now, her very bones produce a never-ending flow of divine blood, making her a living font of power and miracles.

Power – The Saint Who Bleeds Creation
•Her blood is a divine catalyst—it heals wounds and purifies sickness to those who consume it.
•It can restore fertility, cure the incurable, and bless warriors with divine resilience.
•Even her touch carries power—a hand pressed to the forehead can ease pain, lift exhaustion, or restore vitality.

The Theocracy's Lie – The Saint's Divine Burden
"She is not an Organ-Bearer. She is no mere mortal. She is a miracle—proof of the gods' will made flesh."

•The Theocracy claims she is a holy miracle, not an Organ-Bearer. Her existence is framed as a divine mystery, an anointed vessel of the gods' mercy.
•To acknowledge the truth—that she was made, not chosen—would be heresy, an open contradiction of doctrine.
•As a result, her nature is hidden, her power rationed, and her blood treated as a sacred resource that only the Theocracy may bestow upon the "worthy."
•Her survival is not her own—she is kept secluded, veiled, and surrounded by guards who enforce the illusion of her divinity and purity.

The Drawback – The Saint's Curse
"Blessed are those who drink of the Saint's blood, for they will know the touch of the divine. But beware—for no rebirth comes without transformation."

Her blood does not simply heal—it remakes. Those who drink of her gift are changed, whether they desire it or not.

1. The Mark of Divinity – No One Remains The Same
•The marrow she consumed was from a goddess of fertility, creation, and transformation—and so her blood reshapes what it touches.
•Those who drink too much may develop inhuman traits—their bodies trying to mold themselves into something more divine, more monstrous, or something in between.
•monstrous mutations, sprouting wings, extra eyes, or glowing veins as their bodies struggle to contain divinity.
•A few experience divine madness, speaking in tongues, hearing voices, or becoming lost in visions of gods long dead.

2. The Binding of a Living Relic
•Because of her power, she is never truly free—she is seen as a resource, not a person.
•The Theocracy controls access to her, rationing her miracles to ensure their authority remains absolute.
•She is guarded at all times, her very bones considered too valuable to risk falling into enemy hands.

3. The Gilded Cage of the Divine
•To the faithful, she is a holy figure, a living font of mercy.
•To the powerful, she is a living artifact, a tool to enforce obedience and keep rivals in check.
•She does not know what she is anymore—a saint, a prisoner, or simply an abomination wrapped in silk and prayer.

Appearance & Presence
•Her bones are sacred—when glimpsed beneath her flesh, they shimmer like pearl and gold, as if sculpted from divine light.
•When wounded, she does not bleed normally—her blood flows luminously, shimmering like liquid starlight.
•Her presence is overwhelming—standing near her feels like being in the eye of a storm, both soothing and unsettling.

Character Struggles
•She was a priestess, not a warrior. She was meant to pray, guide, and serve—but now she is a commodity to be bled, a miracle to be harvested.
•She is both revered and feared. Some worship her, some seek to use her, and others whisper that she is not meant to exist at all.
•She wrestles with guilt—every time she grants her gift, she risks changing people in ways they never asked for.
•She is a prisoner in a temple of worship. The Theocracy keeps her in silken robes and gold-threaded veils, but the chains remain.
•She wonders if she should escape. But if she does, what happens to the faithful who believe in her? The sick who need her?

Hooks for the Game
•A faction may seek to free her—but is it for her sake, or do they simply wish to own her power for themselves?
•A Theocracy official starts questioning the truth—if she is not truly divine, then what else is the Church hiding?
•Someone drinks too much of her blood and transforms into something unnatural, sparking rumors that her gift may be more of a curse.
•She meets another Organ-Bearer who offers her a choice: What if you didn't have to serve anyone? What if you could be free?

This could tie in to Balor and Freyja's quest, since I've been wondering how his heat beam eye organ could relate to him being freakishly large and strong enough to break her bone armour. Presumably he drank some of the saint's blood at some point and it turned him into a hulking demigod monster on top of being an organ-bearer. Either he obtained a vial of blood through violent means or he was given it deliberately by the Theocracy with the warning of don't drink it all at once. If course he gets wounded at some point and does exactly that...

Either way would put Freyja at odds with the Theocracy, since she would blame them for Balor's existence. This might expand her quest to 'make sure no more Balor's can happen' which might put her in conflict with the saint as well..

The theocracy isn't the only faction that has organ-bearers on their side, but they are certainly the most militant group about regulating them and denouncing their existence as profane, even despite their own secret machinations. No one else is in a position of enough power to court enemies of rogue organ-bearers, but that isn't to say that non-Theocracy Organ-Bearers will simply live-and-let-live if Freyja poses a perceived threat to their or their factions's interests.

Right. Freyja is unlikely to display much loyalty to any particular faction beyond what aid they can offer her on her path to vengence.

 

[notlydialovelace]

I dumped a bit of new lore in a PM with a prospective participant, which I feel is important enough to share here as well. It was mostly in response to a few bullet-point questions so it may be somewhat disjointed, but I will edit it as necessary so it flows better.

Organ-Bearers exist as living weapons of the factions that control them, unless they are the rare type that isn't under any factions' banner. There would be various ways of becoming a factionless OB, but here are a few off the top of my head:

1. Randomly stumbling into an undiscovered God-Organ in the wild and ingesting it either deliberately or without knowing that it is a seed of power
2. Originally had a faction, but that faction was either wiped out by rivals, destroyed in a power-clash, or the OB themselves went berserk and killed the faction once they gained their powers
3. They were cast aside by their faction in favor of someone who was worth fostering as a powerhouse, if they were a comparative dud power-wise

A high-ranking Theocracy hierophant or someone who is enshrined with great importance within their order, has either a God-Graft or Organ-Bearer ability to sense God-Organs in general. Whether an eye, or another organ of perception. Which either means they can 'Identify' any object as being a God-Organ or not once in close proximity to it, or perhaps dowse the location of god-organs from a long distance. Maybe a bit of both, but only the former power is constant, and the secondary power is fleeting and random. Which would mean that the Theocracy might know about types of God-Organs no one else has learned of yet, and everyone else just is thinking in terms of hearts, fingers, bones, eyes, etc.

Besides the Theocracy, there are no established-canon factions to speak of, only vague ideas of what a 'faction' looks like. A consortium of nearby nobles, a kingdom, a cult, etc. Basically any group with shared identity, interests, and enough influence to procure an Organ and enough political power to regulate them.

The scarcity of God-Organs is largely a forced scarcity, based on the Theocracy aggressively stockpiling them, petitioning anyone they believe to have them to surrender them, and not proactively using them until someone else's moves force their hand, or they have a political play they need more power behind. The enshrined God-Seer (who can detect and identify God-Organs) is the driving force of that particular engine. But basically the only means anyone else has to get a God-Organ, is to luck into finding one before the Theocracy snaps it up, purchase one on the black market, or make a back-alley deal with an insider in the theocracy who has something they want.

Besides the Theocracy, few factions, if any, will have more than one concurrent OB in their ranks. Both because it takes a lot of attention and care to regulate even one, and because they fear that if they created two, they might fight each other for dominance. As well as that, they want to save any spare god-organs as backups if their single OB goes rogue, goes mad, or dies, so having more than one is inefficient since it takes a lot to get each Organ.

There is no regulatory body as far as Organ Bearers, or the factions that promulgate them, are concerned. There is the Theocracy, which espouses the notion that no one should become an OB period, the pretense for their amassment of organs, which is really just a move to consolidate the fuel of power in their indisputable favor. Not everyone necessarily listens to the Theocracy at their word, but acknowledge that if it came to an arms-race, the Theocracy would always win, and so try to lay low and not escalate in a war they can't win due to having far less material. Sort of like if you are gambling against someone with far more money than you, no matter what the dice are, you can't come out ahead if there is enough of a power-gap to start out with.

Combat between Organ Bearers of different factions is not unheard of, but it's far more common for factions to be more conservative and wield their OB as a symbol of authority and legitimacy, sort of a deterrent to anyone who might come up against them. If you don't have one, you might get less respect at the bargaining table from someone who does, since they know they can wipe you out, sort of thing. So it's basically a must-have to be on equal footing in political dealings.

The far more common threat to Organ Bearers is their own powers (and the madness they bring, and so forth), or attempts by rival factions to either get them to defect, or to assassinate them to weaken the faction they serve. OB-OB combat is more of a lightning-strike thing. Unpredictable and semi-rare, but devastating when it happens.

OBs do not have the option to choose to retire, primarily because they are unable to voluntarily purge themselves of their own power. As paradoxical as it is, a rogue OB is actually in far more danger than one aligned with a faction, since everyone knows the faction will go to great lengths to protect their most valuable asset, especially if they don't have the means of getting another Organ on short notice. Retiring is a choice that has to be made by the Faction itself, and is usually for reasons of the organ bearer losing their usefulness or being too weak a symbol of power to be worth dedicating as much protection and oversight to.

Under almost all circumstances, an OB will win a fair fight against any unpowered human, no question. But not all OBs have powers that make them invulnerable, immune, immortal, etc. Poisoning, stabbing them in their sleep, and playing dirty in general are all viable tactics that professionals will be prepared to resort to against Organ Bearers. There might even be a few rare humans, perhaps only God-Grafted, who with enough experience and tactic, can win a fight against a relatively recently-empowered OB who hasn't grown into the height of their power. God-Grafted are sort of a low-risk, low reward. Since unlike Organ-Bearers, a God-Grafted's deific limb can be reclaimed afterwards in some cases, whereas if an OB dies, their organ dies with them. But they don't get as much power out of the equation, which also means they go power-mad far less easily.

Organ Bearers aren't shackled with metaphorical explosive collars, but a lot of attention will be paid, and movements may be restricted, to OBs. The faction doesn't want to lose them, and wants to be able to summon them to any situation that calls for them, so leaving them on their own is not an option most of the time, unless the OB is unquestionably aligned with the faction.

As far as recruiting roaming OBs, it's generally a more risky proposition for anyone but the Theocracy. Usually the factions that create OBs pick more carefully who they are selecting, and generally want to offer a sense of indebtedness for having granted the human their power, as a baseline for allegiance. Not that that is always enough, but it's sort of a good start. Beyond that, if they find someone who is free-range, they may not necessarily know if they are actually roaming, or a trojan horse of another faction wanting to undo them from within. Only the Theocracy has enough power to quell any such internal rebellion, anyone else will prefer to find an organ by any means and create an OB themselves rather than trust a rogue OB has no vested interests in killing them all.

The Theocracy is not the biggest faction by conventional standards, but they are by far the most influential in the new-world-order brought about by the advent of the God-Rain. Some kingdoms might have much more wealth and resources, a stronger military, more followers, etc. But the Theocracy has the implied threat of mass awakening and unleashing a storm of OBs on anyone who tests their patience too far, so they are the biggest fish in the pond.

The Theocracy is sort of an enigma. On the one hand they legitimately believe that OBs are a threat to the natural order of the world, but they also are acting with the ulterior motive to further their own influence by creating OBs whenever necessary to stay on top in the chess-game. They are basically trying to hoard the wealth while remaining frugal in their spending, so that no one else grows too big for them to shut down if necessary. At the same time, their actions are effectively reducing the net total of OBs that there would be, if the God-Organs the Theocracy stockpiled were available on the open market. So they aren't 100% acting opposite to their doctrine, they are just being slightly hypocritical and allowing their own actions to be above scrutiny of their claims. They mainly want to quell the power of factions rather than individual OBs, necessarily. They will, however, attempt to pull as many OBs to their own side as possible, and indoctrinate them into serving the Theocracy. Since they are the only faction with enough organs to shut down an OB, however powerful, who tries to kill them all.