Daeus

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Note: Daeus is an ADVANCED race and may not be suitable for all campaigns. Please consult your GM before deciding on playing a Daeus character, because they may say hell no!

Overview

• Daeus Visual Guide
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Physical Description

The Daeus are varied in appearance, but they collectively resemble large, powerful humanoids with various skin tones, little to no hair, and adorned with powerful armour of unknown material and pristine quality. Unlike most races, Daeus are not conceived by two parents but rather are brought into existence by dense metaforce saturation and a surge of cognition (they are brought into existence by the will of the universe). Therefore, a Daeus is often born as a fully-developed adult, complete with clothing suited to the conception of their actualization. Daeus are not forced to wear the same clothing for the rest of their lives but most tend to adopt variations of their conception attire as a reminder of their origins.

Daeus often start on the same scale as most mortals, but quickly grow in size and power as their influence does. Daeus that are successful can grow so immensely large that they can potentially crush a Colossal-sized giant as easily as a Colossal could crush a tiny-sized race. Daeus that are not as successful will instead remain small and weak, potentially to become a mortal Daeus or existentially disappear from reality. Because of this, most Daeus that are known are often titanic at their largest, unless they choose to use their powers to scale down to more discreet sizes later.

Culture & Social

Daeus are a starkly culture-less race, because they essentially have no families and no place of birth (aside from their origin of actualization), they do not tend to develop distinct personality or customs until they start interacting with other races. New Daeus are often gifted from birth but lack the immense supernatural abilities they would later learn in life, thus these Daeuses are able to socialize and integrate into other groups and cultures more easily. Daeus have no need for sustenance or rest but can learn from other species of their benefits, which can enrich the experiences of Daeus and relate to others better. Daeuses that don't socially interact with other races do not end up gaining the influence needed to grow as a person or as an actualized deity.

In the ancient past, Daeuses used to be more plentiful, with it being possible to have handfuls setting up settlements for their kind and functioning more like a true race. However, due to the Wishing-Star event, many Daeus were displaced into other planes of existence and only the strongest Daeus actualizations can actually exist on the material plane. There may only be a handful of Daeus on the planet at any one time, with some shifting into other planes or meeting their end via the lack of cognitive bonds. A party that encounters a Daeus that is willing to journey with them is given a gift literally that of the gods.

Race Meta

• Base Height/Size: 5-7ft / 6'0" (Medium, Size: 1)
• Type: Outsider
• Rarity: Holographic Secret Rare
• Faction(s): Initially None, Viridian Republic

The Daeus is considered an advanced race not just because of their power but because of their concept. A Daeus character is essentially a Demi-god born from cognitive actualization, they came to existence because the universe and the collective unconsciousness willed it so, with the help of the metaforce. Playing a Daeus can seem like a power-gamer's dream however the progression of a Daeus is strictly guided by the bonds of non-Daeus, in fact, they gain very little experience at all for defeating enemies or completing quests, the most important factors would be a Daeus' reputation and the willingness of their companions to give power to them. Allies can give them experience points to level up but Daeus must earn the faith and trust of the allies in order to grow as a deity.

The Daeus race is an advanced playstyle for those to play a Demi-god like character who must earn the god-fearing or admiration of others in order to reach godhood, or risk ceasing to exist at all.

Gameplay

The way Daeus characters gain pretty much all the attribute points, skill-focuses and perks right from Lv1 would be a power-gamer's wet-dream, including an ability that causes their character's maximum size to increase for each level they gain, even surpassing Colossal beyond Lv16, would be absolutely insane for your average campaign. If played well a Daeus could be the Joker of a party's deck, but if played badly would trivialize almost every scenario imaginable. A GM has every right to deny players access to this race but the design principle around the Daeus isn't completely broken. The main contention is that normal experience gain is severely neutered and requires the charity of party members and the reputation of the game scenario to even surpass Lv1. Furthermore, as a Daeus' power is relative to the influence of those around them, if they act in a way that inspires neither fear nor admiration will slowly cause the Daeus to lose power and size until they eventually vanish and become forgotten by even those party members they have travelled with.

Roleplay Suggestions

A Daeus starts with the ability to communicate in any language known to common races and will be able to instinctively know the general purpose and meaning behind objects, creatures and environments as if they were a fully-developed adult in body and mind. However, a Daeus also starts life as a blank slate, they have no history, no connections, no family and even the notion that they may not be the only Daeus is only something they feel is true, but they cannot know where one might be from the outset. Ultimately the only way they can learn and grow is by gaining real experience by exploring the world and interacting with people. All Daeus are aware that their power is governed by 'influence' and that influence must be gained through others. How they approach this is unique to each Daeus, even the events that transpire between interacting with others may determine whether they become benevolent or malicious, aligned towards the moral good or evil, and whether their actions will be based on logic and consistency or chaos and feeling.

As Adventurers

A Daeus must always seek to gain influence from others in order to maintain their existence and grow in power, but Daeus adventurers comes from realizing that the bonds shared by close friends and allies can be just as powerful as amassing the passing approval of a crowd of strangers. As a Daeus adventurer's powers will still be middling from the beginning, an adventuring party will slowly get used to a Daeus' quirks as well as their tremendous power. A Daeus adventurer may quickly outsize and overpower other party members but at the same time, each member of the team is able to rely on their Daeus to help them when things get tough and also help them teach what it means to live life to the fullest.

Racial Adjustments & Archetypes

Daeus

Daeus are born gifted, physically and mentally. However, they all lack experience and thus skill-based advancements are nil at actualization. They do not tire and with greater knowledge, they are masters of the metaforce

♦ Daeus gain a +5 attribute bonus to Strength, Perception, Endurance, Charisma, Intelligence, Agility and Luck. They do not gain a free attribute point at creation.
♦ Daeus have (1 + Intelligence) Skill-Focuses. They cannot assign any Skill-Focuses until they learn about skills, and only the skills they're experienced in play. They also never gain skill points.
♦ Daeus gain 5 Perk points. They cannot assign any Perks until they learn about perks, and only perks they've experienced before. They do not gain a free perk point at creation.
♦ Daeus are considered Medium-size to start: they have a size-rating of 1. A Daeus may start as a size smaller than Medium but their size-rating will still be 1 minimum.
♦ Daeus always start at Lv1 regardless of the starting experience gained by starting a campaign, additionally they have a XP multiplier of 0.2x regardless of size.

Archetype: Progressive Perfection

Daeus can unlock the ability to continue to grow their character attributes evenly and progressively ascend above all other creatures. Only a few Daeus can handle the loneliness this aspect of progressive perfection can bring.

♦ The Daeus gains a +1 attribute bonus to all attributes every 4th level.
♦ They also gain an attribute bonus once every 2nd level: They can choose to increase Strength and Endurance by +1, Perception and Agility by +1, Intelligence and Charisma by +1 or Luck by +2.
♦ The above attribute gains are retroactive, the Daeus gains attribute points as if they had chosen this archetype at Lv1, even if they pick this archetype later.

Archetype: Metaforce Mastery

Daeus that unlock the ability to use magic will soon have the knowledge of spells, powers and abilities unseen even by the greatest of the practicioners of the metaforce.

♦ The Daeus can now assign Skill-Focuses on any [Metaforce] related skills.
♦ Any skill with a Skill-Focus is treated as being Master (100) and the Daeus may apply and select all Skill perks they are entitled to for that rank.
♦ The Daeus automatically learns all spells, powers and/or commands related to the skills they have a Skill-Focus in.

Archetype: Combat Colossi

Daeus that realise the potential of their combat ability will soon be able to conjure powerful weapons that grow as they do, and be able to wield them with incredible self-taught skill.

♦ The Daeus can now assign Skill-Focuses on any [Combat] related skills and all Defence skills.
♦ Any skill with a Skill-Focus is treated as being Master (100) and the Daeus may apply and select all Skill perks they are entitled to for that rank.
♦ The Daeus is capable of conjuring unique weapons of their choosing and are proficient in them. If dropped, the weapon can teleport back into their hand(s) and can also be made to be unusable or immovably heavy to unworthy/unauthorised wielders.

Archetype: Impervious Sheen

Daeus realise that even though they are very powerful, they could still be killed by a tremendous amount of force. They can develop an aura and an outfit that protects them from all who dare claim their lives.

♦ The Daeus gains an outfit with a armour-rating of 10 (which scales with size) and a Defence-bonus of +10. The design is unimportant, it can be clothing or any type of armour.
♦ The Daeus gains an aura which reduces all damage taken by 50%, if the Daeus performs a defensive action, this aura grants a 90% damage resistance instead. Damage reduced below 1 becomes 0.
♦ The Daeus can alter their aura to affect their allies as well, to an unlimited amount, if so: the passive resistance is lower to 20% and the aura protects against 50% damage when the Daeus does nothing but defend.

Archetype: Ultimate Trickster

Daeus that learn how creatures can misunderstand or mistake how the world works can allow them to become the ultimate Trickster.

♦ The Daeus can now assign a Skill-Focus to all Larceny skills.
♦ A Daeus can go into stealth as if they became invisible, muffled and intangible. The Daeus has a +100 bonus against being detected by others.
♦ A Daeus can change their form to match the appearance of any creature, living or dead, or any objects of a size they can rescale to. They can also mimic all their quirks, traits, powers and memories.
♦ A Daeus can also turn into an original creature or object that they can imagine, their disguise ability is not restricted to creatures and objects that exist.
♦ A Daeus does not require tools to perform a Bypass check, they can physically and/or mentally bypass a lock or disarm a trap according to normal skill check rules.

Archetype: Well of Power

Daeus that realise just how much overflowing power they possess can actually grant their allies and those they favour some of their power as well, revitalising them with their mere presence.

♦ The Daeus now grants all allies within 100 steps a health regeneration and resource-point recovery of 2% at the start of each of their turns (minimum 1).
♦ This bonus increases by 1% for every archetype the Daeus owns.

♦ The Daeus can also grant allies a +10 bonus to skill checks, +4 damage to attack commands and +25% ToHit for command accuracy.
♦ These bonuses increase by +5 to skill checks, +2 to damage and +25% to ToHit for every archetype the Daeus owns.
♦ Technically speaking, all these bonuses and regenerations affect the Daeus, not just their allies. They can discriminate targets so that foes do not benefit from this power.

Archetype: Timeless Wonder

Daeus may soon realise that time controls everything that occurs both in the near and distant future. The Daeus can decide to make time work in their favour, as well as their allies.

♦ The Daeus now can reduce the first command they execute to cost 0 AP, the second command they execute will gain a 60% reduction, and the third will have a 20% reduction.
♦ The Daeus, at any time, can transfer their own AP to any ally or allies to be used on the same turn, enabling allies to effectively have multiple turns or be able to take actions outside their turn when their AP is too low or depleted.
♦ The Daeus can also target a foe and use an advanced action (100AP) to do one of two things: Reduce their base movement to 0 (forcing AP usage to move), or reducing their AP by up to 100).
  (The Daeus can perform this action as many times as they have AP remaining. They can still gain a discount using this action as with effect 1.)

Archetype: Creator God

Daeus can realise that everything made of matter can be constructed by arranging it exactly right, this gives the Daeus the ability to create useful materials, items and objects with just a thought.

♦ The Daeus can now convert one type of material into another, but only if they have access to the material they wish to convert into as a reference.
♦ The Daeus can create any kind of object, item or equipment so long as they have a reference to go by. (A Daeus can make a Green herb from anything else as long as they have a Green herb to reference).
♦ The Daeus can now assign a Skill-Focus to all Engineering skills.

Archetype: Eternal Memories

Daeus can often remember everything that transpires around them, but soon they start to recall memories they never had, and eventually be able to bring back what was lost to tragedy and time.

♦ Ability: A Daeus can recall what had occured in a location they are phyically located in as if they can see into the past. They have total control of how the rememberance is played back and can report back what they see and hear.
♦ If the Daeus is harmed or affected by something, they can expend all their AP in order to roll back their personal time to a point before they were harmed or affected. The Daeus can only use this action once per round and only for the last actions taken by an individual.
♦ If an ally is harmed, affected or killed by an action or events, the Daeus can expend all AP to revert that target back to before they were harmed, affected or killed by that action or event. The Daeus can only use this action once per round and only for the last actions taken against the ally.

Traits

Passive: Expanding Aspect

While most races have to start off learning tricks of their trade, Daeuses tend to unlock more of their powers as they progress, they learn archetypes almost as naturally as others would improve their attributes.

♦ A Daeus no longer gains attribute points at 4th level and beyond. They also do not pick new archetypes or respecify at 10th level and beyond.
♦ Instead, a Daeus can select a new archetype at 4th level and every 4th level until all available archetypes are attained.

Passive + Ability: Perspective-Shift / Rescale

A Daeus learns quickly that size is a matter of perspective, and as their power increases, they can alter their perspective and their size by greater and greater amounts until they become as large as Titans or as tiny as insects.

♦ By default, this ability can be activated as a standard action (50AP).
♦ Effect: A Daeus can change their size by up to 2 full size categories per activation of the ability, to a minimum of Diminutive-Size to a size-rating equal to their character level.
         (A Daeus' size-rating is never less than 1, even while Small, Tiny or Diminutive.)
♦ When a Daeus returns to 'normal size', their size-rating becomes equal to their character level. A Daeus can abruptly increase in size at the very point they level up during this circumstance.

Rescale: Skill Perks

At Competent Rank or higher, the Daeus may gain extra bonuses to their ability, a new bonus is selected at each rank of the Potential skill:

♦ Rapid-Shift: The Daeus may activate their Rescale ability freely, even when it is not their turn.  There is also no limit to the number of size categories they can shift in one action.

♦ Facade: The Daeus' size-rating is considered one size category higher than the size they rescale to. (If the Daeus rescales to Medium (1) or lower, they have a size-rating of 2 instead.)

♦ Adjust: The Daeus can now change the size of unattended objects and equipment to sizes that they are capable of rescaling to.
                The Daeus can decide whether an object stays resized or returns to normal at will, resized objects can also be made to fit the proportions of its user.

♦ Perspective: The Daeus can now change the size of other creatures, willing and unwilling, by however many size categories the Daeus themselves are capable of scaling to.
                     Unwilling targets can only resist the effect if they can use any spells, powers or equipment that normally prevents or limits size-changing effects.
                     Affected creatures will remain resized until the Daeus dismisses the effect, the effect does not expire until dismissed.

♦ Titanic: The Daeus' maximum size rating is increased by x2, they can exceed the maximum size limit of Colossal+ (24) and attain Titanic (32) and Titanic+ (64) size if able.

Passive: Metaforce-Incarnate

The Daeus are born from cognition mixed with the metaforce and thus they are metaforce incarnate, this does not grant them the skill and expertise of meta-force users but does grant them a few decisive advantages.

♦ The cost of casting spells or using powers that cost resource points is reduced to 0.
♦ Their maximum resource points is multiplied by 5, and in the event that resource points are somehow drained or spent, a Daeus recovers 100% of their resource points at the start of their turn.
♦ The Daeus gains a +100 bonus to all [Metaforce] related skills, however this bonus is only useful if the Daeus invests into skills which they have learned about.