Godbound: Wonders of the Thousand Gods, Part 2

As previously described, the tribes living in the region of the Thousand Gods are an odd lot: once research facilities and their staff they were forced, in desperation, to turn to their often unproven or incomplete research in order to create beings which would support them through the darkest hours. Suffice to say most, if not all, regretted it. From grotesque bio mechanical Parasite Gods to hideous, sentient nano-eidolon plagues to living Godwalkers which consume their pilots the region of the Thousand Gods is home to endless divine horrors.

Sacred Ritual Temple by Wayne Huet

Generating A Tribe

The basic organizational unit in the Thousand Gods is the tribe. While that name may lead one to believe tribes are as one would expect a form of blood tie this isn't always true. The realm of the Thousand Gods can be notoriously unstable, with tribes attacking each others and it isn't uncommon for a defeated one to be integrated into the conquering tribe. This is certainly very useful for these tribes whose genes have been tampered with (willingly or accidentally) and who display horrific mutations: in these cases, admixture with unrelated individuals might be the only thing saving them from complete degeneration due to inbreeding.

The lifestyle of the inhabitants of the Thousand Gods is notably quite bizarre: tribal societies dominated by practices some would call barbaric (especially compared to places such as the Bright Republic) such as ritualistic mutilations, trepanation and shamanistic quests achieved through ingestion of substances which risk destroying one's cognition forever co-exist with advanced technological marvels such as advanced weapon and armors or fabrication devices. However these are all treated with immense superstition and increasingly less understood. What was once seen as science has become superstition.

D20	Mentality	Relationship With Their God(s)	Main Technology/Advantage
1	Extremely judgmental of outsiders who do not understand their way.	In a constant state of fear from their God’s abuse. More pathetic than vicious, really.	Primitive Godwalkers
2			Cybernetics
3			Transhumanism
4		Zealous, brainwashed crusaders out to spread the joyous torture their God bring.	Spirit Summoning Theurgy
5	Fearful of outsiders on some level, see them as unable to fully grasp their God and its glory.		Uncreated Binding Theurgy
6			Weather Control Theurgy
7		Reduced, mutilated and neutered into blind obedience. Feel nothing.	Cloning Theurgy
8			Theotechnical Energy Weapons
9	Viciously hateful to all other tribes around them. Seek to exterminate them.		Theotechnical Advanced Metallurgy
10		Distant, only providing sacrifices to appease their wrathful God.	Theotechnical Automation
11			God-derived Enhancements
12			God-derived Abundance
13	Impossibly pompous, soul-saving Crusaders and Proselytiser. All hail the great Bird God! He alone can save you! (OVO)	Heavily involved in the daily life of their God and vice-versa. Society complex and convoluted in their worship.	They have a cache of ancient Theotechnical relics in excellent conditions.
14
15			They have an abundance of half-human offsprings to their Gods. They are quite insane, however.
16		Desperate, with a God whose power or life is somehow fading or unstable. Society is more ran by desperate techno-shaming trying to keep their god alive.
17	Extremely cunning and opportunistic.		Their God(s) are stranger than average or at least has a more stable power base.
18
19		Surprisingly stable and healthy by local standards.	Multiple Gods In a Pantheon which is (somewhat) able to work together.
20

In addition, there are many, MANY other resources found in Sine Nomine books that can help with further refining the ideas behind a tribe, namely the resources in Spears of the Dawn and Stars Without Numbers.

Godbound: Wonders of the Thousand Gods, Part 1

The region known as the Thousand Gods embodies how truly lopsided the Realm of Arcem more than any other region. Built in ancient times in untapped jungles, the facilities there were the ancient temple-research centers of the Former Empires as they field-tested the theotechnical devices which would be implemented in the Made Gods.

Suffice to say things went south pretty quick as the wars raged on.

Today these places are insular communities who live in veneration and fear of their 'Gods', horrible monstrosities created by the research facilities as a lost resort to survive the horrors of the Sundering. These beings are more often than not lopsided beings driven mad by their transformation. The end result are jungle communities where ancient technology overlap with cruel, sometimes degenerate tribal societies (but often just as much simply desperate) where pre-industrial lifestyle overlap with leftover wonders of advanced theotechnical marvels jealously guarded by shaman and their vicious masters.

Artist Unknown

Monstrous Demiurges

The key component of the societies of the Thousand Gods are the beings they serve and fear. Created from either untested or damaged theurgic and theotechnical means, most if not all divinely powerful beings found in the Thousand Gods region are horrific monsters in some shape, form or function. Few, if any of them, are truly sane or well-meaning. While the infamous Parasite Gods are one common form these beings can take, they are not the only type:

• Artificial Intelligence: The core 'canon' of Godbound is somewhat unclear on the existence of true Artificial Intelligence. The Lexicon of the Throne leaves it open to inclusion in a campaign and it is definitely one of the cooler concept Words. But does it exist in Arcem? If it does then it must be a byproduct of the theotechnical knowledge which went into the creation of the Mades Gods as some were said to be wholly artificial. An Artificial Intelligence would be a form of spirit, in a manner of speaking, its code made of ephemeral and multi-dimensional...thingamajig. Look the point is they are coded into reality rather than coded into a device. It is likely the Ren and Din were the one to build such constructs: the Ren to help manage their ideal society on a societal level while the Akeh likely used them for automation and defensive purpose.
• Beast Gods: Driven mad by a surge of divine powers, these creatures are massive and bereft of anything resembling human intelligence. Some came into being via highly unstable Khamite soul-gene modifications which grew out of control from an excess of divine power while others were warped by other means. The key traits of Beast Gods is that, while they are divinely powered beings they lack intelligence. Any cult centered around them treat them more like a living volcano to be placated or some giant guardian which sacrifices are offered. While these beings understand these pacts they cannot communicate with their worshipers beyond certain theurge-shaman using songs or rituals to soothe the beast.
• Corrupt Godwalker: Sometimes, things go terribly wrong in Godwalker designs. The end result is a haunted, unstable machine with a life of its own. This is not quite the same as it being sentient or possesed but rather a form of mental imprinting which slowly corrupt the pilot to fulfill the alien needs and desires of the machine. In addition, much like artifacts, these corrupted Godwalkers will warp the body and mind of its pilot or even try to physically assimilate it into its structure in some cases. The end result is very much a biomechanical Parasite God for all intent and purpose, albeit one without the limits of being tied to one location. They do, however, require maintenance to live which is a different limitation and weakness. Eventually the human inside will rot or be consume and a new pilot will be chosen to ensure the mechanical God live again.