Playing God

The Game

Playing God is a tabletop roleplaying game inspired by mythologies from around the world and fantasy fiction. Instead of playing a mortal hero, you are a god. During deity creation, you choose one or more domains, an origin, and a symbol.

There are 23 domains to choose from Chaos, Community, Darkness, Death, Fate, Festivity, Fire, Harvest, Invention, Justice, Life, Light, Love, Luck, Magic, Nature, Skies, Travel, Trickery, War, Water, Wealth, and Wisdom.

Once you're ready to play, you can have your deity perform wonders, like these:

• create worlds and people
• spawn titans
• unleash cataclysms
• attract worshipers
• commit deicide and more!

You can play this game with or without a GM, and with as few as one or two players! No matter how many people are at your table, the Deck of Fate simulates the mystifying actions of mortals as the ages roll on.

Will you create worlds and populate them? Will you steal worshipers and domains from your enemies? Will you and other gods fight as avatars? Will you create afterlives and connected planes of reality? Will you sunder pantheons? Or will you save the multiverse from its foretold doom?

The cosmos are in your hands in Playing God!

The Domains

Virtually every deity has a portfolio of special interests or areas of concern called domains.

Chaos

Most chaos gods were born out of the primordial ether of creation or near reality’s fiery end. Unpredictable and prone to wanton destruction, chaos gods are usually worshiped more out of fear than love. Appeasing these capricious gods might ward off destruction for a time.

Community

Gods of community are found in the heart of places where people gather. A god of community sometimes becomes the patron of a single city or settlement, or of a constellation of sister cities. Many are also the gods of home and the hearth.

Darkness

Gods of darkness are often the counterparts to gods of light. As the sun sets, they cover the sky in the shroud of night. Some are full of malice, hiding monsters and enemies in every shadow and lurking in the caves and pits. Others revel in the gentle stillness of the night and the rest and peace it brings.

Death

Gods of death focus on creating and maintaining the afterlife, a realm where the disembodied dead await judgment, reincarnation, or the end of all things. Many of those who worship a death god do so to secure a favorable place in the afterlife.

Fate

Gods of prophecy, time, and destiny are all gods of fate. They weave or watch over the threads of individual lives. Unlike the gods of luck, fate gods are dispassionate and are more concerned with order than the whims of individual mortals. Those who worship the gods of fate accept the lot life has dealt them and trust the grand design of the overall plan.

Festivity

Gods of alcohol, ecstasy, and theater are all gods of festivity. They invite people to open their minds, don a mask, or release inhibitions. They celebrate mortal sensuality and altered states of mind. Their worshipers hold bacchanal rituals on the fringes of civilization where they induct others into their mysteries.

Fire

Gods of fire know the value of flame as both weapon and tool. While fire can destroy, it can also warm the freezing mortal, revitalize a forest, heat food and drink, and power the forges of the world. Those who worship fire gods are those who would bend the flame to their will or avert its destruction.

Harvest

Gods of the harvest are involved in sun and soil. They have the power to bring forth grain, fruit, seed, and other food for mortalkind and animals. Their feast days are at harvest’s end. Those who worship harvest gods are foragers, farmers, and fieldhands. Gods of the harvest might also watch over domesticated animals.

Invention

Gods of music, crafting, tinkering, and creation are all gods of invention. They send muses and strokes of genius to mortals. Their influence is the fuel that drives innovation, creativity, and progress. Those who worship invention gods are artists, musicians, craftspeople, writers, and inventors.

Justice

Gods of tradition, order, and law are gods of justice. They balance the scales as they weigh the hearts and minds of mortals, whether in life or the final judgment. Some gods of justice are devoted to seeing wrongs righted. Others look on the universe with cold impartiality. Almost all wish to see civilization continue or to preserve a cosmic balance throughout the multiverse.

Life

Intimately involved in creating, protecting, and sustaining life, the gods of life are involved in every heartbeat and drawn breath. Healers, herbalists, and those who pray to live another day are life gods’ primary worshipers.

Light

The gods of light are radiant beings whose energy suffuses reality. They hold darkness at bay and cast secrets and hidden things into the light of scrutiny. Some are strongly associated with the sun, moon, or other celestial body. Anyone might be drawn to a god of light, unless they have something to hide.

Love

Gods of love concern themselves with all mortal relationships—friendship, desire, romance, family, and more. Some are also involved in more abstract forms of love, like welfare, fairness, or patriotism. Matchmakers, romantics, poets, humanitarians, and others who love deeply might worship a god of love.

Luck

Gods of luck meddle with the laws of probability to nudge outcomes in their favor. Most offer the same to their worshipers, so they attract gamblers, daredevils, elected officials, and anyone who could use a little more good luck. The other side of the coin is misfortune, which many gods of luck also use against their enemies.

Magic

The gods of magic are deeply invested in transformation, illusion, spellcraft, legendary items, necromancy, and the occult. Many of these deities are also masters of science or gods of knowledge. They all guard secrets that make their godly powers take on new dimensions or befuddle even other gods. Magicians, sorcerers, alchemists, and illusionists are counted among their worshipers.

Nature

The gods of nature are more concerned with wildernesses and wildlife than mortal civilization. They instill in animals an instinctive fear of people and cause forests, grasslands, and jungles to grow wild and wondrous. Their mortal worshippers are few but include hermits, hunters, and those who live outside the influence of civilization.

Sky

The gods of storms and skies bring rain, lightning, and snow. Their benevolence is marked by rainbows and sunsets, and their wrath is felt in blizzards, tornadoes, hurricanes, and floods. Their worshippers include sailors, farmers, and others who respect or fear the power of the heavens.

Travel

The open road is dangerous. The gods of travel know the way. The gods of direction, wanderlust, and speed are all gods of travel. Merchants, messengers, travelers, and pilgrims likely pay homage to gods of travel.

Trickery

Gods of trickery are deceptive beings who like to fool mortals and gods alike out of malice, to further their goals, or for their own amusement. Some disguise themselves as clowns or drunkards. Others outright shapeshift into animals or assume original personas. Mortal tricksters are naturally drawn to trickster gods.

War

Gods of strategy, violence, and courage are all gods of war. Some inspire mortals to heights of selfless valor or brilliant strategy while others whip mortals into states of indiscriminate bloodlust and violence. Generals, soldiers, mercenaries, gladiators, and sadists are all drawn to gods of war.

Water

Most gods of water are interested in the sea, but some are instead devoted to a specific lake, river, or waterfall. They can protect those who travel their domain. They are often mysterious, as deep and brooding as the ocean. Seafarers, fisherpeople, and coast dwellers are water gods’ primary worshipers.

Wealth

The gods of wealth are intimately connected with the earth, from which all precious metals and minerals come. The wealthy are drawn to them as protectors of fortunes while the aspiring wealthy ask to strike it rich themselves.

Wisdom

Gods of wisdom are interested in acquiring knowledge and experience. They are wise themselves and bless chosen mortals with great insight or deep secrets. Scholars, students, and philosophers are among the worshipers of a god of wisdom.