Warning, most of this post was copy pasted from a conversation, so the sentences are relatively short and may seem a bit broken up.


I had an interesting RP game idea about 20 minutes ago.

The game focuses around gods and their supporters. Gods have absolute power over everything within their domain. They can create, destroy, or change whatever they want. The mortal followers, on the other hand, live their lives, and provide said gods with their power through worship. Everything the gods do, all the way down to simply existing, requires that power. Should they ever run out, they are instantly cast from the heavens and become a mortal. Any mortal with a following of believers can become a god.

If a god is malevolent or prone to fits of rage or abuse, his followers will disown him and put their faith in another, rival god, leaving him powerless and defenseless in the face of a rival who has now absorbed all of his power.

The world would start out as a simple series of plains/rivers/oceans, and through the actions of the gods, be transformed into something usable by their people.

"So it'd essentially be like Black and White." I hear you saying, and to some extent that's a decent comparison. It would be less restrictive, yet more restrictive at the same time. You have more power, more control over the world than simply being able to toss rocks and create food, but your power is severely tethered to the will of the mortals, because the mortals aren't AI controlled npcs, they're other players. They won't keep giving you strength after you blow up their house, they'll shout screw you and move to another god.

Now, you might thinking, "but what fun is it to be the mortals?", well, while the gods have oodles of power, the mortals are what make them tick. The mortals have a considerable amount of heft in how things happen, because without them, the god runs out of power. They can also interact with the world, just not to the same extent as the gods can. While a god can snap his fingers and create a forest, a mortal can sow the seeds of a grove, care for it until it grows, and nurture it, allowing it to spread and become the same forest, the only difference being the time it took to do it. A god might flick his wrist and create a lake, but a human can still route rivers for irrigation, dig channels for boats, and create man-made lakes, again, the only difference being in the amount of time it takes.

Obviously, all of this would be scaled to the number of players. It would have to keep track of the number of unique regular players and adjust costs/bonuses accordingly, but that is easier to handle than it might sound.

Obviously, some of the powers of gods have already been stated, creating lakes/rivers/forests and other landscapes, but they would also have the power to create things from nothing, destroy things that exist, and change things into something completely different. They could turn lead to gold, make it rain gems, and wipe out neighboring gods, provided they have enough support behind them. But, even with all these wonderful powers, they have to be careful. If they overuse their powers and run out of energy, they won't be able to sustain their godly form anymore and turn back into a mortal.


So, anyone here have any significant counterpoints that I missed, or anyone who just thinks this would be fun and would be interested in playing it? Anyone think this is just stupid and could never work? I'm game for any kind of feedback.