Part-Time Gods

[Krul]

I recently picked up this gem as an E-Book, and I must say I'm rather impressed.

I've read a number of different rpgs in which you play as a deity, or semi-divine being, Nobilis, Scion, New Gods of Mankind, Divinity, etc. But I think I like the premise and idea behind this one best.

Part-Time Gods presents a concept of our modern world, with the idea that gods are hidden everywhere you might look, but different then you might expect. You go about your life unaware that the taxi driver down the street, or your next door neighbor, your girlfriend, or even your dad, might actually be a divinity seeking to balance his or her mortal life with the divine one.

The key aspect of what makes a god, is the divine Spark (those familiar with White Wolf games will see this is a the power stat of a god, though the game doesn't use that system), their dominion, which is what they are god of, entitlements (divine gifts) and their manifestations, which are how they control their power.

Not every god is the same either, even if they have the same domain, one god of drugs might be a pharmacist/doctor believing in using drugs to better mankind, while another might be the drug dealer down the street, and yet another might be the simply be a chemist studying the nature of drugs..

Part of the background of the game includes something called the Source, which long ago joined with some woman who some stories call Eve, or Pandora, or Izanami, and humanity gained sentience at that day. The Source went on to create gods, who later imprisoned it in order to be free to do as they pleased, but while imprisoned, the gods powers wained, and the Source unleashed new beings from it's hidden prison, Outsiders that the gods had to fight. Between the discovery that gods were no longer entirely immortal, and the rising god wars, over the millenniums gods started to go into hiding, giving their sparks of divinity to worthy mortals upon death, and other such things.

Gods these days are no longer immortal beings of unlimited power that they use to be, oh they have power, but they can be killed, and they also have dangerous enemies, not the least of which being other gods, sense you can consume someones essence/soul to gain their domain, giving things a sort of highlander flavor. Also, after a 100 years, a god begins to age, even to the point of dying of old age, though there are ways to put this off. But a young god under 100 years will come back in 3 days or so, however, if one is older then that, or if someone/something consumes your soul, your gone. When you die, you lose a point of your Spark permanently, if this takes you to 0 then your back to being mortal, losing what divine power you once had.

Into this, drop the 8 theologies, which again, those familiar with white wolf will find interesting, as they are similar in aspects to clans/tribes/kith, from groups who have inherited powers in direct descent from the original gods, to those who view themselves as the agents of god rather then divine powers, to folks seeking to become greater divinities, etc.

To make matters more interesting, the rising times of today has stirred the Source in it's ancient prison and new gods and outsiders(monsters) are rising today, more then have been seen in ages, a matter that the older gods are calling the Rising Storm.

In this mess, a divinity must manage to balance their humanity with their divinity, thus being a Part-Time God.