Lords of Olympus: World Walking

Lords of Olympus is a “multiversal” setting; that is, there are infinite numbers of possible universes, and there are special beings (Gods, some monsters, and a few very able mortal magicians taking extreme risks) who are capable of traversing from one world to another. There are of course similarities between this and the Amber setting; however, one particular difference (not just in World-Walking but in most of the major LoO powers) is that the use of World-Walking is more complicated and takes more time than “using the Pattern”.  This was an intentional design goal on my part, to try to change how the powers are used; they tend to require more planning and forethought than what you see in an Amber game.

In Lords of Olympus, World-Walkers will have one, two, or three of three possible “roads” that allows them to travel the multiverse.  Each of these roads is tied to a specific type of terrain (the Olympian road requires that one be in the open-air outdoors; the Atlantean Road requires that one be in or next to a body of water; the Hadean Road requires that one be underground).  A character can’t just start to walk, they have to first find the right kind of environment for the road they want, and then find where there is an “opening” to the divine road they seek.  How long this takes depends on their Ego Class; where a standard Olympian Class Ego character would take a couple of hours (though a High-Ego-Class character might be able to find a road in just a few minutes). A character’s Fortitude Class determines how long they can stay on the road (which requires concentration), without slipping off into the universe the road currently traverses.

Its my intention that this kind of setup creates all kinds of interesting gaming potential.  Consider in the first place that there can be universes that are reachable only by one or two roads rather than all three.  For example, a universe with no bodies of water would be unreachable by the Atlantean Road.  If you knew an opponent can only walk the Olympian Road, you could dump him in a universe that has no “open air” (an infinite underground world, for example; or a world that is an enormous artificial construct of corridors and buildings with no open spaces).  The time it takes to find a road entry, and the terrain requirements, mean that PCs who are thinking of using World-walking as a potential escape route will have to have a known exit point beforehand; and of course, to be able to reach it if things get hairy!

RPGPundit

Currently Smoking: Blatter Diplomat + Altadis’ Old Professor

(Originally posted April 12, 2013, on the old blog)