Death, Taxes, and Cookies: to Rule an Underworld - INTERMISSION 2 END

[X] Well, It's a Start
- [X] Location 1
Roll: 55+15=75
Amplified Success

Ambition is good, but caution is what keeps it in check. I start collecting the divinity that infuses the space around me, willing it to press denser and denser into itself, the very fabric of reality gripped tight by this strange substance that seems so connected to me, and pulled into form.

That was... surprisingly easy.

YES.

YOU HAVE CHOSEN TO START SMALL.

I HAVE NO COMPLAINTS TO THIS DECISION.

I make a quiet "mm" noise. A good base to start us off - from here, I can set my goals higher and higher, building on the foundations of the predecessor. And judging by how easy it was, my goals can be set quite high indeed.

[Result: Chair created in Location 1 - Relax action slightly upgraded. New Lordship options unlocked. Colin's Lordship increases by 1 + 1 (Bonus from first action of the game) +1 (Bonus from amplified success]

---

I take another look at my handiwork. It isn't much, but that's exactly what I was going for. Now, it's time to move on.

  So, what should I do next? Maybe one of the other buildings you mentioned?

NO.

?

THERE IS NOT ENOUGH SPACE.

YOUR CREATION HAS TAKEN UP ALL AVAILABLE SPACE IN THIS LOCATION.

Seriously?

But I only made one chair...

... I DID NOT MEAN PHYSICAL SPACE.

METAPHYSICAL SPACE. THIS PLACE IS CONCEPTUALLY TINY FOR AN UNDERWORLD.

ONLY A SINGLE IDEA CAN PERSIST IN THIS LOCATION, UNTIL WE INCREASE ITS' CONCEPTUAL AREA.

WE MAY UPGRADE YOUR CONSTRUCT, OR DESTROY IT AND REPLACE IT WITH ANOTHER.

BUT TWO CREATIONS ARE UNFEASIBLE IN THE CRAMPED IDEA THAT THIS PLACE REPRESENTS.

...

...

ANOTHER WAY OF LOOKING AT IT IS THERE IS NOT ENOUGH DIVINITY TO CREATE ANY MORE.

AND NOT ENOUGH SPACE TO SAFELY LET IN MORE OF YOUR UNFATHOMABLE POWER.

SO WE MUST ATTAIN MORE SPACE TO RESUME CONSTRUCTION.

... So we need to convert more places into... 'my dominion'?

Like what you did for the cavern?

PRECISELY.

BUT THE DEEPER WE PLUMB THE ABYSS FOR CONCEPTUAL LAND...

... THE MORE MALEVOLENCE WE MAY ENCOUNTER.

SIMPLY PUT, WE WILL FIND DEMONS.

D-Demons?

YES. BEINGS ANTITHETICAL TO THE ORDER YOU REPRESENT AS LORD OF THE DEAD.

YOU HAVE GREAT POWER, YET WITH NO WEAPON, STRENGTH IS USELESS.

YOUR ANGELS ARE THAT WEAPON.

FOR YOUR SAFETY, YOU MUST STAY HERE, WHILE I ENACT A CAMPAIGN AGAINST THE ABYSS.

A "HARROWING".

THIS TASK WILL REST SQUARELY ON MYSELF.

YOU WILL BE FREE TO TAKE YOUR OWN ACTIONS, WHILE I TAKE MINE, TO TEST MY CAPABILITIES.

PARTICULARLY MY MILITARY ACUMEN, COMBAT PROWESS, AND ABILITY TO ENACT ORDER.

MY "GRIP", AS THE BOOK OF THE DEAD PUTS IT.

I breathe a quiet sigh of relief, knowing I won't have to personally fend off a dangerous demon, no matter how divine I am. Again, I'm a peasant child in a big cloak - not a warrior! Not yet, anyway. Maybe some small part of me wants to do battle with villainous monsters, like the heroes of old. But that part's dumb.

... Well, okay. I guess that makes sense.

This seems simple enough. I build things, while you give me more places to build?

YES, BUT NOT ONLY THAT.

I WILL LIKELY NOT BE YOUR ONLY SERVANT.

INDEED - SOME OF THE DEMONS I FACE WILL BE WILLING TO REBUKE THEIR ALLEGIANCE TO CHAOS.

IF YOU WISH IT, AND I DO PARTICULARLY WELL IN BATTLE, WE WILL BE ABLE TO RECRUIT THEM -

TURNING DEMONS INTO ANGELS. OR, SPECIFICALLY, INTO "PSYCHOPOMPS".

So that's where I get new... angels. I see.

Aren't there any drawbacks to this...?

WELL.

THEY TAKE UP CONCEPTUAL SPACE, JUST AS BUILDINGS DO.

Darn it.

BUT LESS SO THAN SAID CONSTRUCTS.

TWO MAXIMUM FOR A LOCATION THIS SIZE, COMPARED TO THE MAXIMUM OF ONE CONSTRUCT.

Oh, geez...

Scratch anything being simple enough, this is really complicated already. And I have the feeling I'm still scratching the surface of this whole thing...

YES.

...

RUNNING AN UNDERWORLD WILL BE FAR FROM PAINLESS.

BUT I BELIEVE YOU WILL EXCEL.

You believe in a lot of things, Barold.

I DO.

---

Turn 2

Time passed since death: ???

the Book of the Dead

- Lordship Actions -

[ ] to Create - An Altar of Creation, the Aspect called it. Something like your unnamed wand-thing, but bigger, and more personalized. This should allow you to refine your control over your divinity.
Result: Create an Altar of Creation at a specified location, which unlocks more Lordship actions. Low Risk.
- [ ] Select location to place this construct.
- [ ] (OPTIONAL) Describe, roughly, how it could look.

[ ] to Transform - A Crucible, the Aspect called it. Not actually a big pot, but a room, or a chamber, where your essence collects - where it is dense. Somewhere you could fill or change something with your divinity, for a variety of effects.
Result: Create a Crucible at a specified location, which unlocks certain Omen and Mask actions. Low Risk.
- [ ] Select location to place this construct.
- [ ] (OPTIONAL) Describe, roughly, how it could look.

[ ] to Judge - A Hall of Judgement, the Aspect called it. Much less flashy than its' name sounds, it would merely be a place where you could store dead souls - once you start collecting them, that is - and decide which part of your underworld they should be sent to.
Result: Create a Hall of Judgement at a specified location, which unlocks certain Lordship and Omen actions. Low Risk.
- [ ] Select location to place this construct.
- [ ] (OPTIONAL) Describe, roughly, how it could look.

[ ] Death the Gardener - You can make inanimate objects with divinity. Maybe you can create life, too, despite the, ah, reason you have that divinity in the first place. A garden would be nice... Result: Create a Garden at a specified location, which lowers Stress gain slightly and unlocks ??? next time you take the Relax action. Obtain Nature affinity. Below Average Risk.
- [ ] Select location to place this construct.
- [ ] (OPTIONAL) Describe, roughly, how it could look.

[ ] Renovation - You're thinking of a new look for one of your locations. Your control of your divinity is still low, but you think you can create a good aesthetic regardless... Result: Change how a location in the Underworld looks, roughly. Free action (Colin can perform another action even if they take this one, and can take it multiple times).
- [ ] Select a location to renovate, and how, roughly, you change its' appearance.

[ ] Deconstruction - The old must give way to the new - maybe that should be part of what Death represents. Result: Remove a construct from a certain location.
- [ ] Select a construct in a location to remove.

- Grip Actions -

Advisor of Grip: Barold

Pick 1

[ ] Harrowing Hell - The time has come to expand. More locations, more angels, more of the Abyss to be placed under your dominion. Death must be more ineffable, more unyielding than almost any other thing in existence.
- [ ] Pick a direction. Any direction. Even ones that usually don't exist.

- Misc Actions -

[ ] Relax - I've been feeling unwell lately. Maybe I should spend some time with my thoughts, lest they grow dark. Result: Lowers Stress. Taking this option too many times will have detrimental effects on the Underworld.

[ ] Q&A With Mx. Barold - Curiosity burns in my mind. I should talk to the Aspect about this. Result: Ask a question or questions to Barold, who will answer as best as it can. Free action.
- [ ] Ask a question, or questions, to the Aspect.

[ ] A New Name - I've come up with a great new name for something! Result: Rename something, from the Aspect, to an Angel, to a construct, to a location, the Book of the Dead, to even Colin themself, and more things besides. Free action.
- [ ] What do you rename, and what to?