Secrets of the Gods

The world flourished in the long ago time known as the Age of the Gods. It was a time of unparalleled development as the mortal races uncovered the secrets of the gods themselves, magic. But the darkness that sleeps in the hearts of all mortal beings could not be suppressed and the nations of the world turned upon each other, warring with great magics that rent and sundered the world. And the gods saw the devastation their gift of knowledge had wrought and they heard the cries of their faithful as the world burned. So they sealed away all knowledge of their secrets, locking them deep within potent artifacts known as relics. But it was far too late – the world was burning and only the god's direct intervention was enough to heal the land that life might continue on.

The world slowly healed and civilization rebuilt itself, leading to modern times. You are a member of an expeditionary party sent by the Church of the Silver Flame to explore a set of ruins and recover any relics – the only way that modern day races may use magic. But you will find far more then you expected buried in these barren lands that were once the heartland of a great kingdom.

Note: This is inspired by Epitaph by BM and some of the rules are lifted from that game.

Charge In
You have 21 points to distribute between the following categories. You also get one specialty which adds two dice to any applicable roll.

• Physical
• Dexterity
• Mental
• Social
• Will

Hit Points: Standard 5 HP
Fate: Standard 3 fate per session.

Note: Fighting without use of a relic would involve a dexterity or strength roll, depending on what you are using or how you are fighting. This is pretty free form.

Properties
Properties cost 2 charge in points and represent something intrinsic to your character. You are unlikely to be able to earn one of these in game as a result. The three listed here are only examples, so feel free to offer write ins.

Inhuman: The blood of some inhuman or non-mortal being, such as a spirit or other mystical creature, runs in your veins. You gain two free powers but also at least one weaknesses related to whatever being you are descended from.

Blessed: You have been anointed or blessed as either a priest or a paladin of the Church of the Silver Flame, having walked through the purifying flame and been judged worthy. You do more damage to supernatural beings, find it harder for supernatural beings to harm you, gain benefits from holy sites, and have a certain status. However, you are also bound to the Church's teachings and either the knightly or priestly codes of conduct.

Cursed: Your body has been warped by something, such as the plague of undeath or a tainted relic. You gain 2 more HP and have the ability to shrug off death (one time each session) with the proper roll. However, you take extra damage from the purifying powers of the church and will often be shunned or encounter other difficulties during your travels.

Relics
There are many names for what the Church of the Silver Flame calls relics, but at the heart of things they are artifacts of the ancient world. When the gods sealed away the Free Magic of the Age of Gods they trapped their knowledge, their secrets, in these relics and in modern times they are one of the very few ways for mortal man to use magic.

Each and every relic takes on a different appearance but the power within can be detected and clearly felt. They each have a theme depending on what magic was trapped within them or what they were before the Cataclysm. The scale of a dragon worked into an amulet, for example, might allow its wielder to draw upon the powers of said mighty creature.

Relic Creation
Each relic grants a series of powers based around a theme, such as the above dragon scale. You have 6 points to spend to build your relic out of the powers and abilities below but everything must fit within your theme. Note that you will loose access to your powers if you do not have your relic, though relics attune to their owner and can generally be traced. It is also difficult to turn a relic's powers against its wielder.

Enhancement: Your relic can bolster one of your stats to superhuman levels, granting you automatic successes on a roll. One point of enhancement equals one auto-sux.

Estoria: Your relic grants you magical powers such as those wielded by the long dead sorcerers of the Age of Gods. This includes things like raising the dead, commanding the elements, summoning, healing, shape-shifting, etc. Each point spent here grants one power, which will be rolled as 2 dice + appropriate stat.

Endurance: Your relic grants you some form of enhanced defense such as dragon scales, stone skin, a magical force field, a field that makes it harder for people to target you, etc. Make sure to explain what your defense is and what it does or doesn't work against. Each point spent in this category reduces damage to you by one.

Relic Use and Backlash
Channeling the secrets of the gods can be trying on body, soul, and mind. You may use your relic a limited number of times each session, specifically the number of points you have in will. After that you may force yourself past your limits but must risk the chance of Backlash. Backlash is some form of magical catastrophe, usually but not always related to what the relic's user was trying to do. Once you have used up your free uses you to have to roll one dice. If you get a sux then you avoid backlash, but if you fail you will be hit with backlash.

Attunement
Relic users become attuned to their artifacts and learn to draw upon more of its inner secrets the more the make use of it. In other words you will gain experience as the game goes along that can be spent on the following items:

Attribute Point: 2 XP
New Relic Ability: 3 XP
New Specialty: 3 XP