How Does Godbound Play?

Godbound is based on an "Old School Renaissance" rules chassis strongly inspired by the classic gaming books of Gary Gygax, Dave Arneson, Tom Moldvay and Zeb Cook. There are a lot of contemporary systems in currency, and many of these systems are great fun at the table, but the classic OSR framework is one understood and readily playable for millions of players worldwide.

This is crucial, because Godbound is a game meant to be played. Godbound supports a "sandbox gaming" style of campaign from the very start. In a sandbox game, the Game Master, or "GM" sets up an interesting world for the player characters or "PCs" to encounter, and then lets them encounter it in whatever way they choose. The book you're holding provides the example realm of Arcem to serve as a template, but your GM can easily choose to brew up their own with the guidelines and tools in this book, or pluck a favorite fictional setting from other media to use for your game.

As a Godbound hero, your job is to dig into that world and start working your will on it. There will be threats aimed at you, it's true. Especially as you start interfering with the plans of powerful entities and thwarting the will of other demi-divine powers, you'll find them striking back with all the resources at their command. But at the game's heart, it's a game about your hero and the changes they choose to impress on the world. For good or ill, there is no judgment and there is no judge. There is only you, your pantheon-allies, and the dreams you have for your own world.

Great works are not accomplished lightly, of course. To achieve mighty ends, you'll need to delve into forgotten ruins to accumulate the resources and celestial artifacts you need to enact major changes in the world. You'll need to fight back parasite gods, theurgic Eldritch, Uncreated monstrosities, mortal legions, and other nameless enemies that seek to thwart your ambitions. You'll need to find ways to solve problems with something less than a blaze of divine fury, because a more direct solution would smash the very structure you're trying to preserve. To be a god is a difficult thing.

As your hero grows in experience and familiarity with their powers, they will open new vistas. A novice Godbound still has cause to be wary around mobs of angry mortals, but a veteran wielder of the Words can sweep away armies with their wrath. More importantly, you'll be able to dare the perils of fallen Heaven and risk raids on the flames of Hell, dueling fallen angels to snatch back the souls of the unjustly condemned or claim celestial salvage from the broken engines of long-vanished realms. Perhaps you will even summon up enough power to forge your own Paradise, a refuge-realm where the souls of your faithful can find safety against the constant downward draw of Hell.

The world can be as you would make it, if you are willing to pay the price. Not all Godbound will want to leave such a mark on creation, of course. Some simply have no desire to mold the world in their image, loving only a life of excitement, adventure, and fearsome foes worthy of their divine fists. Others have doubts about their own righteousness, and are reluctant to impress their will on a world that might not welcome their idea of perfection.

You'll make these choices in the course of your adventures. With a GM to provide the backdrop and challenges for your heroes, and the players to provide the drive of ambition and grand plans, the game will provide you all with an excellent evening's fun.