Sword World 2.5: An Overview, Part Four
(Number four in my dorky series of Sword World 2.5 articles, examining the English version churned out by the Sword World Translation Project. Download their translation, join their Discord, or peruse their sub-Reddit. And like I always say, lay down that boogie and play that funky music ’til you die.)
The Gods of Raxia
Gods & ends
After the War of the Gods many thousands of years ago, the divinities of Raxia retreated to a distant realm which is essentially Heaven. There they wait and heal until a distant day of reckoning, when they will arise again and finish their business with each other once and for all. A CthulhuRagnarok, if you will.
Despite their recuperation, the gods remain aware of the world and provide assistance to their true believers. The collective thoughts and good will of humanoids will sometimes draw the gods’ attention to certain mortals. In extreme cases they will offer apotheosis to these mortals, creating latter-day godlings who may or may not gain enough power to become major gods themselves.
Gods are broadly categorized as Ancient, Major, and Minor. Ancient gods are worshiped worldwide. Major gods have a continental scope. Minor gods are usually local to a region. If a priest travels away from a god’s sphere of influence, they may incur spell penalties unless they can find a way to beef up the local worship of that god. It’s all rather fuzzy.
Worshiping a god isn’t just window dressing for a Priest. Though everyone’s spell lists are largely similar, each god has their own unique spells at levels 2, 4, 7, 10, and 13. Also, Priests of the First Sword gods tend to have spells that specifically target Barbarous (Banish, Detect, etc.). Priests of the Second Sword gods have similar spells that specifically target humanoids. The priests of Kilhia, God of Wisdom and wielder of the Third Sword, generally align with the First Sword guys.
The following gods are described in all three rulebooks, plus the Epic Treasury and Magus Arts supplements.
Ancient gods
Lyphos the Divine Ancestor: The first one. Mild-mannered, more inclined to talk than fight. His spells do things like make all hostiles non-hostile and give humanoids the special abilities of other humanoids for a while.
Tidan, God of the Sun: Lyphos’ best friend. All about fairness. Really hates undead. His spells are mostly light-based. He also has one that can clear up bad weather instantly.
Asteria, Goddess of Fairies: Creator of Elves and progenitor of fairy magic. Her spells are charm- and emotion-based.
Grendal, Blazing Emperor: God of fire, creator of Dwarves. Unique in that he’s as popular with Barbarous as he is with humanoids. His spells are all about … aww you guessed.
Gamel, God of Money: Given godhood by Lyphos for inventing capital, ensuring that he’ll be first against the wall when the revolution comes, comrades. His spells are mostly about finding the true value of things. He also has the spell [Life Insurance], which lets you sacrifice cash to get a bonus on your death check roll.
Kilhia, God of Wisdom: Found the Third Sword, Cardia, before it exploded. His spells inspire insight and knowledge. His highest-level unique spell allows a priest to cast a spell of any other tradition (Truespeech, Fairy Magic, etc.).
Dhalkrem, God of War: Wielder of the Sword of Freedom, Ignis, and starter of the god war. Boo this man. The creator and main god of the Barbarous, he’s sometimes worshiped by humanoid brigands and soldiers as well. His spells all have names like [Frenzy] and [Berserk].
Major gods
Sien, Goddess of the Moon: Tidan’s sweetheart in life. Supporter of people who work and worry at night, including wives, tavern keepers, and sex workers. Her spells are all about vision, darkness, and fortitude.
Mirtabar, the Divine Hand: God of thieves and adventurers. Scouts tend to whisper prayers to him while trying to disarm traps. His spells emphasize quick hands and accurate movement.
Eve, Shield Against the Abyss: Goddess of the Tiens and other guardians of the Wall of the Abyss. Her followers are always expected to defend the weak. Spells are mostly tuned against daemons.
Harula, the Guiding Star: Eve’s sister, who is all about finding your place in the world and bringing the lost back home. Her spells are generally designed to make Shallow Abysses easier to navigate.
Dalion, God of the Trees: The Lorax writ large. Worshiped by hunters and loggers. His spells get you through the forest easier and/or trip up pursuers.
Miritsa, Goddess of Love and Vengeance: Two-in-one special! Originally a Barbarous who learned compassion and got godmoded by Lyphos. Her priests are all women. Spells involve redirecting damage and turning public opinion.
Myles, Divine Chef: God of cooking and craftsmanship. Supposedly the first human to make food for more than survival. Spells have names like [Enticing Aroma] and [Adiposity], which makes your target super fat.
Aurmata, Armored Goddess: A latecomer divinity who gained fame for building Magitech Iron Man armor. Worshiped by soldiers, Artificers, and blacksmiths. Her spells give priests magi-mechanical body enhancements like wings and cannons.
Paro, Divine Herald: One of the few other people deified by the power of the Third Sword, Paro is the messenger god (and god of messengers). His spells mostly help Tacticians, a new class from the Magus Arts supplement.
Adeni, Weaver of Threads: Goddess of clothing, and by extension cleanliness and disease prevention. Her spells keep people clean and tidy, and cure or repel sickness.
Nivaceps, the Blood-Bathing Goddess: A former nosferatu who gained godhood. Mutilates maidens and bathes in their blood, so it’s not just a clever name. Not a nice lady. Spells are all “us against them” discord creators.
Eiryak, Sea Snatcher: A former Barbarous pirate. Hates the act of creation and espouses just taking what you want without mercy. Lots of water-based spells.
Zeides, Immortal Queen: Her quest for immortality made her the progenitor of the nosferatu. Her spells make vampiric life easier, like [Sunshade] and [Spirit Domination].
Laris, the Mad God: Nobody really knows where this guy came from or got his powers. Some speculate he’s from a different dimension entirely. Worshiped by daemons, which is kind of a giveaway. His spells summon insects and daemons.
Gurvazo, Trap God: Formerly a humanoid who really, really liked traps. Got so into it that he was committing war crimes, so Dhalkrem called him up. Really into EDM. Guess what his spells are about.
Zoras-Valles, Earth Storm: Zoras is an earth goddess and her twin brother Valles is a sky god. Though Barbarous gods, they’re more about forethought and preparation than hitting things. Worshiped by the architects of the Diabolic Triumph. Their spells involve prognostication and confusion.
Minor gods
Furusil, Goddess of Wind and Rain: Daughter of Tidan and Sien. Outwardly cool but secretly affectionate (y’know, kuudere). Worshiped in the southern part of the continent. Spells are all storm-based.
Strasford, God of Railroads: He’s the god. Of railroads. Who cares about anything else, there’s a friggin’ god of railroads in this game. A former Dwarf tinkerer in the Dorden Region, where trains still run today. Spells maintain and extend the capabilities of vehicles.
Sadur, Wandering God: Formerly an Elf noble in the Aurelm Region who spent his time walking around solving people’s problems. His spells involve travel, hiding, and enemy detection.
Meigal, Fraud God: Home of the fraud god. The first swindler, who appeared in the world almost the instant Gamel invented money. His spells are all misdirection and deceit.
Spells
We have such sights to show you
I’ve talked about spells a lot, so let’s see how they’re presented in the books.
Again, most of this is self-explanatory. The ⏭ symbol in the [Blink] spell means it can be cast as a minor action, and the △ means it can be cast during the combat prep phase. Occasionally you’ll see a ⭘, which indicates a permanent effect.
Most spells that cause damage will have the Power Table entry right in the description.
Resistance shows what happens on a successful Willpower roll to shake a spell off. This can be “Can’t,” “n/a”, “Neg,” “Half,” and “Optional.” Optional spells are usually meant to be beneficial for an ally, but if the target doesn’t want it on them for some reason, they can roll to negate it.
The little witch-hat icon indicates that these are level 8 Truespeech (Sorcerer) spells. Each tradition has its own icon. There are more in supplements for Geomancers and Druids, but these are the OG:
Spells for major classes cap out at level 15. Minor classes that let you pick and choose an effect every level (a Bard’s spellsongs, for instance, or an Alchemist’s Evocations) have a dozen or so that can be learned at level 1, another group with a minimum level of 5, and a third group at level 10.
Next time: Suppose they gave an adventure and nobody came?
Part 1: Intro to Sword World/Thumbnail History of Raxia
Part 2: Races and Classes
Part 3: Combat
Part 4: Gods and Spells
Part 5: Fellows
Part 6: Guilds and Monsters
Part 7: Conclusion