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Reposted by red holy fool 👺

red holy fool 👺 @makapatag.bsky.social · 2d

Awakened with no memory in a world built on a god's corpse. Raxri's past is a murder mystery. Their future is a revolution.

GOD OBLITERATING VAJRA is a gritty blend of mud-and-lotus philosophy and kris-and-talisman action.

Poppy War X Cradle X The Blade

www.royalroad.com/fiction/1044...

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Reposted by red holy fool 👺

red holy fool 👺 @makapatag.bsky.social · 1d

check out some neat southeast asian dark fantasy wuxia

www.royalroad.com/fiction/1044...

God Obliterating Vajra [Dark Esoteric Progression Fantasy]

HELL RISES TO TEAR YOU APART. HEAVEN CONSPIRES TO MURDER YOU. DRINK OF THE WINE OF THE WRATH OF GOD. KILL THE BUDDHA ON THE ROAD.UNTIL ALL BEINGS ARE FREE. The world ended after the Second World Revol...

www.royalroad.com

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red holy fool 👺 @makapatag.bsky.social · 1d

the fundaments of whorl's cosmology

the black circle is the masses—masses of interdependent, intercrossing, contingent phenomena that are Real. it is black because it is Nothing. some call it God or Love

the white rectangle—the throne. it is empty. Nothing sits atop it.

a rectangle beneath a filled circle. the words: REACH VIOLENCE. NO MUD NO LOTUS.

and NOTHING IS GOING TO HAPPEN above the circle.

this is the truth of the whorl

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red holy fool 👺 @makapatag.bsky.social · 1d

check out some neat southeast asian dark fantasy wuxia

www.royalroad.com/fiction/1044...

God Obliterating Vajra [Dark Esoteric Progression Fantasy]

HELL RISES TO TEAR YOU APART. HEAVEN CONSPIRES TO MURDER YOU. DRINK OF THE WINE OF THE WRATH OF GOD. KILL THE BUDDHA ON THE ROAD.UNTIL ALL BEINGS ARE FREE. The world ended after the Second World Revol...

www.royalroad.com

2 2

red holy fool 👺 @makapatag.bsky.social · 1d

the fundaments of whorl's cosmology

the black circle is the masses—masses of interdependent, intercrossing, contingent phenomena that are Real. it is black because it is Nothing. some call it God or Love

the white rectangle—the throne. it is empty. Nothing sits atop it.

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red holy fool 👺 @makapatag.bsky.social · 2d

idk what batshit divine madness shit i was trying to cook up in canva

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red holy fool 👺 @makapatag.bsky.social · 2d

Awakened with no memory in a world built on a god's corpse. Raxri's past is a murder mystery. Their future is a revolution.

GOD OBLITERATING VAJRA is a gritty blend of mud-and-lotus philosophy and kris-and-talisman action.

Poppy War X Cradle X The Blade

www.royalroad.com/fiction/1044...

3 5

Reposted by red holy fool 👺

red holy fool 👺 @makapatag.bsky.social · Jul 14

GOD OBLITERATING VAJRA is a Buddhapunk Dark Fantasy Wuxia web serial set in the Utter Islands: the last island continent of the planet, built upon the body of a tortured god. Demons have escaped hell, ghosts refuse to be reincarnated, and demon chakravartins rule.

www.royalroad.com/fiction/1044...

Akazha beating down Raxri for BOOK 2 OF GOD OBLITERATING VAJRA: THE GLOAM EXORCIST

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Reposted by red holy fool 👺

red holy fool 👺 @makapatag.bsky.social · 2d

GOD OBLITERATING VAJRA is kinda like if you did a vengeance wuxia story but in a maoist southeast asian lens instead of the usual imperial era lens and also if the world was suspiciously like our world in post-capitalism

www.royalroad.com/fiction/1044...

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red holy fool 👺 @makapatag.bsky.social · 2d

SWORDS AGAINST HEAVEN is kinda like disco elysium + final fantasy tactics + exalted (mortal) + early levels d&d 4e + nsr + kingdom death monster + early game elden ring + maoist wuxia it makes sense when you see it i promise

www.patreon.com/posts/introd...

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red holy fool 👺 @makapatag.bsky.social · 2d

GOD OBLITERATING VAJRA is kinda like if you did a vengeance wuxia story but in a maoist southeast asian lens instead of the usual imperial era lens and also if the world was suspiciously like our world in post-capitalism

www.royalroad.com/fiction/1044...

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red holy fool 👺 @makapatag.bsky.social · 2d

SWORDS AGAINST HEAVEN is kinda like disco elysium + final fantasy tactics + exalted (mortal) + early levels d&d 4e + nsr + kingdom death monster + early game elden ring + maoist wuxia it makes sense when you see it i promise

www.patreon.com/posts/introd...

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red holy fool 👺 @makapatag.bsky.social · 3d

"can u explain this gap in your resume?" of course you see that's the rupture in my symbolic order where i briefly touched the Real

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KOKOTÖNA Pre-launch LIVE 📌|E💀C @elchupalabras.itch.io · 3d

We close the day with more followers than those we lost, fantastic!

We're almost three quarters to our 200 followers goal before the #Kickstarter for #KOKOTÖNA goes live on Oct. 12th

Thanks #TTRPG folks for all your help, more surprises coming soon!

www.kickstarter.com/projects/elc...

#RPGLatAm

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Reposted by red holy fool 👺

red holy fool 👺 @makapatag.bsky.social · 4d

of course, the ability to slot in multiple passives and to change Cultivations easily is stolen from the Job System of Final Fantasy Tactics

read the whole rules text here:

www.patreon.com/makapatag

makapatag | Patreon

the dark fantasy maoist wuxia world of whorl

www.patreon.com

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Reposted by red holy fool 👺

red holy fool 👺 @makapatag.bsky.social · 4d

for SWORDS AGAINST HEAVEN, the mud-and-lotus, kris-and-talisman "gritty wuxia tactics" ttrpg, more 4e dna comes thru in the Cultivations (diegetic classes, only available to those that seek it). split into the Cultivation's "Grounds" (what is cultivated/4e Power Source) and "Duty" (their Role)

# V - Cultivations

***THIS IS HOW YOU WILL BREAK THE WORLD.***

Do you understand?

Cowards scramble for the power immanent

in the brave and the bold.

***Cultivations*** are the disciplines, traditions, sects, schools, initiations, mandalas, martial arts, and so on of the whorl. There are many of them.

They are the paths for cultivating power. But the better among us cultivate for enlightenment.

The best among us cultivate for compassion.

The unsurpassable among us cultivate for violence.

You choose one cultivation as your **embodied** **cultivation.

You get the **empowerments*** **of that cultivation.

* Passive effects. Always happening as long as you embody it. The privilege of suffering.

The cultivations here are also the most common ones used

during the first and second world revolutions.

Cultivations used to be highly guarded secrets. Once privy only to the priestly caste

or the princely caste. Or the new capitalist caste. And now, in post-capital,

the ruling caste.

But the revolutions split that apart. Now any being, according to their want, can

choose to walk down the royal road of cultivation.

To cultivate power. Or enlightenment. Or benevolence. Or violence.

# Grounds

Each Cultivation also has a **Grounds.** This is explicitly ***what the Cultivation cultivates.*** All Cultivations cultivate some form of power and enlightenment. But how this is expressed *or* what is Cultivated alongside power and enlightenment and benevolence is different per Cultivation.

There are **Four Cultivation Grounds.** There will be more**—**

**Physical Cultivations** focus on cultivating the physical abilities and prowesses. To the point of superhuman capability. Enlightenment through Perfection.

**Magick Cultivations** focus on cultivating the magick skill and ability. To tap the Reality past Unreality. Enlightenment through Rituals.

**Spirit Cultivations** focus on cultivating the ability to deal with inhuman entities as well as the ability to visualize, manifest, and contend with beings greater than one’s own. Enlightenment through Reverrence.

**Psychic Cultivations** focus on cultivating one’s Mind to glean greater mysteries and smash the barriers of Enlightenment. Enlightenment through Meditation.

In this rules manual, there are sixteen cultivations. There will be more, eventually:

The **Damagers** are: Blade Devil, Eschatonist, Fusilwitch, Monsoon Dancer

The **Protectors** are: Adamant Body, Glaresage, Merciful Shield, Vajra Boxer

The **Controllers** are: Charnelseer, Exorcist, Machinist, Smirking Devil

The **Leaders** are: Astrologian, Firebrand, Magochemist, Physicker

# Duties

The Revolution split all cultivations according to ***Duty*** to the **Party.** **There are four duties:

***Damagers*** struck down the machines, soldiers, and weapons of reaction. Skirmishers, assassins, artillery.

***Protectors*** stayed in the front lines and kept everyone safe. Soldiers. Fighters. VanGuards.

***Controllers*** changed the battlefield, sabotaged the world, and handled tactics. Saboteurs, adepts, tacticians.

***Leaders*** conducted the mass line—healing, enabling, bolstering the ranks. Healers, force-multipliers, strategists.

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Reposted by red holy fool 👺

red holy fool 👺 @makapatag.bsky.social · 6d

check it out here!

www.patreon.com/makapatag

Get more from makapatag on Patreon

the dark fantasy maoist wuxia world of whorl

www.patreon.com

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Reposted by red holy fool 👺

red holy fool 👺 @makapatag.bsky.social · 6d

for swords against heaven, my mud-and-lotus fourthlike rpg about wanderers cultivating love and violence post-calamity, one of my "turn 4e on its head" design choices was to completely diegetize, in-fiction, squares

A **square** is around five feet. Wide and tall. Also a cube.

*This is the cosmic mandala measurement. Mystics and wizards and geomancers and metascientists measure the world in squares. The Laws of Physics are mapped out by the square.*

*What about hexes? You can use them too. Some mystics and adepts of other cultures think the Hex is the shape of reality.*

diagrams for burst 1, burst 2, and burst 3

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red holy fool 👺 @makapatag.bsky.social · 4d

of course, the ability to slot in multiple passives and to change Cultivations easily is stolen from the Job System of Final Fantasy Tactics

read the whole rules text here:

www.patreon.com/makapatag

makapatag | Patreon

the dark fantasy maoist wuxia world of whorl

www.patreon.com

2 6

red holy fool 👺 @makapatag.bsky.social · 4d

for SWORDS AGAINST HEAVEN, the mud-and-lotus, kris-and-talisman "gritty wuxia tactics" ttrpg, more 4e dna comes thru in the Cultivations (diegetic classes, only available to those that seek it). split into the Cultivation's "Grounds" (what is cultivated/4e Power Source) and "Duty" (their Role)

1 3 19

Reposted by red holy fool 👺

red holy fool 👺 @makapatag.bsky.social · 6d

in SWORDS AGAINST HEAVEN—NPCs are built in the same way that PCs are made. the battle system is detachable for skirmish wargame purposes. so it needed symmetrical, competitive combat. i took inspiration from how Companion NPCs in D&D 4e were made and made that the basis for PCs

## 2—Adept

A wielder of magick. Most magick wielders are known as Adepts. Witch and warlock are derogatory terms—which some have chosen to reclaim. Wizard is a term reserved for immortals who have perfected their gnosis, though are not yet completely awakened.

**Enlightenment** 0.

**Conditionals**—Health 12. Morale 16. Guard 4. Ward 5. Move 4. Speed 9.

**Attributes—**STR 1. AGI 2. MND 3. HRT 2.

**Abilities**—Third Eye 1. Lore 1. Occult Sciences 1.

**Weapon—**Staff (Light Melee, Esoteric)

**Armor**—Talisman Robes (Arcane Armor).

**Cultivation—**Eschatonist

**Basic Ability**—Apur

**Advanced Ability**—Jongrako

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red holy fool 👺 @makapatag.bsky.social · 5d

okay
hear me out
puts down the mystical concept of Pure Unalloyed Violence, killing everyone in a 5 mile radius

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Reposted by red holy fool 👺

red holy fool 👺 @makapatag.bsky.social · 8d

due to much playtesting for swords against heaven i've stumbled into the fact that 4e's healing surges are a very compelling system for running survival horror gaming

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red holy fool 👺 @makapatag.bsky.social · 7d

swords against heaven playtesting. featuring Moeng Sahaju, the Black Mage and Ria Denzan, the Merciful Shield

moeng and ria vs undead gorgers and walkers

moeng and ria vs goblin cleavers and goblin warlocks

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Reposted by red holy fool 👺

red holy fool 👺 @makapatag.bsky.social · 7d

the design limit of having npcs be built in the same way as PCs (symmetrical design) necessitates that if i introduce new abilities, i make it accessible to the PCs somehow. the final boss of Sword Against Heaven's beginner module is a Magister (ffxii style). so there's a Magister cultivation now

magister rules with far long test and with a cool tibetan style masked dancer

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