An alternate campaign setting for Godlike by Brand Robbins, (c) 2002.
Use High Realism power levels with Cinematic rules options.
“A small man I see, one who shall demonstrate feats of arms at the price of many wounds in his skin. The light of heroes is upon his brow, and the name Victory is his mind. For the battle he sets forth, and to you all he shall be a bane. Your hosts he will mow down, and make your slain lie thick as new snow upon the ground, and by him shall ye all lose your heads. The blood of heroes will pour from their skin, their bodies shall be mangled, and all shall fear the Hound of the Forge.”
— Tain Bo Cuailnge
The Connachta are rising in central Ireland, their power spreading throughout the land. Prophets and bards all sing of their sovereignty, and dream of the day when one of their number shall be High King. They are not without foes, however. In the north the Ulaidh and their Red Branch stand fierce, ready to fight any intrusion into their land. To the south the Eoghanacta build forts in styles learned from the Romans, gathering the local tribes under their rule as they prepare for a great war. In the wild places and the out-isles the Cruithni, the Picts, wait and watch as the Gaels go to war with each other.
It is a dynamic time. Wandering hunters make war with growing kingdoms while a warrior with will and charm can become a great chieftain, a king, or even hope to seize the legendary High Kingship of Tara. Culture clashes with culture as the old wandering tribes fight against the growing continental culture of the Gaels. Patrick has brought a new religion, and walks the land beating the magics of Druids and baptizing many to a new God. It is a time when even the most prosaic of lawmakers recognize “fearann claiomh” – the sword land law that states that land belongs to any who can capture and hold it. It is in this time that the Fir Clease rise to become legends. Men and women given powers beyond what mortals can hope to match, these “Men of Feats” will shake the history of Ireland and gave birth to great cycles of myth. Some claim the Fir Clease’s powers come from magical arms and armor, some from special training, most claim their powers are given to them by the divine: Christians call upon the Might of Christ, and Druids speak of the gifts of the Tuatha De Danann. The Fir Clease themselves speak of the “Glow of Heroes” and the “Victory Arena of the Mind” – for they alone can see the marks of power which divide them from ordinary men.
Though many fear the Fir Clease, all clamor for their loyalty. A single one of their number can turn the course of a whole battle, crush armies, raise fortresses in a day, and sings songs that can melt hearts or crush pride. In them, in their power, rests the pride of the whole people, and so they bear the weight of expectation as well as the power of glory.
Godlike: The Red Branch is set in Ireland between 200 and 600 A.D. The player characters are talents, known as Fir Clease, who have come together as part of a tribe or nation (having them be members of a derbhfine – an extended family – is a good way to bring them together). As part of the wild and changing milieu of Irish life they have a chance to become heroes. Heroes can defend their land from the Connachta like the original Red Branch heroes, challenging enemy Fir Clease to single combat. They could become the new Niall Nine- Hostages, trying to conquer the whole of Ireland and unite it at Tara, with the crown of the High King upon one of their heads. Or perhaps they will side with Patrick, and try to spread the word of Christ throughout the island by working miracles – or work as a Druid who teaches the power of the old ways and backs his beliefs with his talent? Whatever they choose, the destiny of the Emerald Isle is in their hands.
Possible Optional Extras:
The Aos Si (faries) are really mad talents, their neurosis shaped by the myths of their culture. Or they could be hobgoblins created by the ancient version of Goldberg science.
The Tuatha De Danann were an entire people made up of talents, and some of them still walk the earth. They can use Will to stop Fir Clease talents, or each other’s talents, but Fir Clease cannot use Will to stop them.
Magical items can easily be psychic artifacts, or they could be a new form of Goldberg Science. Enchantments could be made permanent (though may be beyond the PCs to create – possibly requiring a Wild Talent or Tuatha to forge) and Glamours work only as long as the creator is watching/present.
Sacred sites (churches, monasteries, stone circles, drumlins, etc) have a special effect on talents – letting them gain Will by performing rituals at a site important to their cult. (Easter mass at a church, starting the fire at Cill Dara, etc.)
Defeating another talent in a Comhlann (formal dual) fully refreshes your will. It does, however, have to follow all the rules of a comhlann – it has to be equal, witnessed by holy folk, has it’s parameters and conditions fully agreed and sworn to before hand, etc.
If you are fighting someone who holds one of your family as a hostage, or to someone you have given slanaiocht (your word of honor) you lose half your Will for the duration of the battle.
Violating a geas (a magical prohibition – placed by a druid or a woman) causes you to lose a point of Will.
If anyone uses trochlaigh (ritually starving themselves outside your house, done when they feel injured by you but are unable to force you to make reparations) against you, you are at -1 to Cool and Command until you settle the matter.
Optional Skills:
Body: Sword, Axe, Spear – Killing things with pointy objects.
Coordination: Chariot – Running people over and not falling out. Horseback Riding – running people over while mounted on a horse. Javelin – throwing a spear at things to kill them (pointy end first, please). Sling – Killing things with rocks and some string.
Sense: The Glow – specialized sense for noticing other talents and their power effects.
Brains: Law – training as a fili or the equivalent. You know, and know how to use, the god-awfully obscure, arcane, and confusing laws of Irleand. Mythology – not much different than history, in the PC’s mind. Good for knowing who killed who and why you should thus be able to kill them. Theology – detailed knowledge in a specific religion.
Command: Geas – only works if you’re a noble woman or a druid. This lets you put a prohibition on someone, causing them to have to do, or not do, something arcane and stupid. Poetry – the Irish are big dopey saps, and a good poet can make them cry or laugh, and then kill them while they are distracted.
Cool: Faith – the degree to which you believe in the superstitions of your cult. Can be used as Mental Stability, and to try to resist the use of Geas.
Recommended Reading:
Pagan Shore by John Carnahan. For the Pendragon RPG, this is a great example of how to use real history in a mythic setting. Wonderful cultural and historical detail.
Myth, Legend, and Romance: An Encyclopedia of the Irish Folk Tradition by Daithi O hOgain. Both scholarly and readable, this is the single best source for information and understanding of the deeps of Irish folktales and legends.
Heroes of the Dawn: Celtic Myth. Part of the Myth and Mankind series by Time Life. It isn’t the deepest book, but has a very approachable layout with lovely pictures and jargon-free writing. (Unlike mine. I like to use jargon. Jargon ON).
Celtic Mythology by Proinsias MacCana. Dense and almost painfully academic, this book still has lots of hard information about Celtic myth.
The Fionavar Tapestry by Guy Gavriel Kay. (The Summer Tree, etc.) It isn’t strictly Irish, or Celtic, but the heavy influence of Celtic myth can be felt in this epic fantasy, and things such as the Summer Tree are right out of old Ireland.
The Lion of Ireland, Bard, and Red Branch by Morgan Llywelyn. Though her writing, and her politics, often give me hives these books are full of good ideas for running heroic campaigns in a mythic Ireland.
The Tain translated by Thomas Kinsella. A decent, and easily avaliable, translation of the saga of the Red Branch.