Godbound - Or Exalted Meets D&D

Godbound is an OSR(Old School Renaissance) table-top game that was released at the end of June, and it's gotten pretty good reviews from everywhere. Even 4chan's /tg/ doesn't universally hate on it, which has to say something.

In it, you play as one of the titular Godbound, a person who has become bound with three of the divine Words, fundamental aspects of creation. These Words range from the physical Might or Alacrity, to the more esoteric Time or Luck.

Spoiler: TL;DR

Every Word gives you a benefit just for having it bound, and Words can be used in two ways. The first is Miracles. Miracles are freeform in that as long as the use fits with the Word's theme, they can be done. However, Miracles are temporary, and more expensive. Gifts, on the other hand, are rote uses of a Word that you know. Gifts are cheaper and can be much longer lasting, but they are restricted in their use.

To use your powers, you have a resource called Effort. Using a power requires you to commit your Effort for a certain period of time; for a Scene, for a Day, or just a period of time that you want the power of the Gift. Effort is then regained at the end of the the allotted time. This is where Miracles become expensive; at their cheapest, they commit Effort for the day, and if they being used to mimic a gift that already commits Effort for a day, then it costs two Effort.

All Godbound have the option to form cults as they level up and change the world, and beyond having minions, these cults do prove power in the form of Dominion. Dominion is a resource that allows a Godbound to permanently alter the world to their specifications. The more implausible the change, the more it costs in Dominion, but the answer is never 'it can't be done', not for the Godbound.

So where does D&D come into any of this? Don't worry, it's not nearly as crunchy as it may seem with a comparison to D&D, its very streamlined. The stats of your character will look familiar if you've ever played any form of D&D; the six attributes are there(Strength, Dexterity, etc), you have AC(descending AC like 2E), you have saving throws, and you have levels(1-10).

And, finally, the enemies. Enemies are divided into two broad groups, determined almost solely by their Hit-Dice, lesser foes and worthy foes. Lesser foes are those enemies that have Hit-Dice equal to or below your level. Lesser foes are, essentially, background elements. Lesser foes rarely get the chance to resist your powers by being allowed a save, and in combat, there is a special mechanic called a Fray Die; roll the die on your turn, and you deal that much damage to lesser foes just for being in combat with them. Worthy foes have Hit-Dice greater than your level(or are Godbound - they're never lesser foes), and actually take effort to defeat.

If any that sounds interesting to you, you might be happy to hear that Godbound offers a free version that includes everything except a few extras such as rules for playing mortals, special versions of Godbound, and other odds and ends. You can get it from here.

 

It starts smaller and ends somewhat higher, as high end Godbound can take over entire realms(dimensions) and become their ruling god. They can even join realms together, if they own both.

Nobilis are concepts given form. Godbound use divinity based around concepts to change and rule the world.

 

Better than most table-top games. Ultimately, the game is pretty light on the resource limitations with its Effort mechanic. The only real concern would be deciding when a character is supposed to use Effort or not. Leaving it to the posters might end up with a result of them never using any out of fear of getting caught without it, or it might go the way of them expending it as quickly as possible and having nothing left.