Start small. Jagat is loud, strange, and full of people who claim to know how history works. You do not need to know them yet. You need a place, a want, and one problem that will not politely wait.
The public test
GODSEED Alpha: The Mount Akhan Aftermath begins in and around Greycastle, Lowmark, on the day after the Mount Akhan raid. The public story says victory. The streets say something else.
Tavern Start is the recommended first game. Begin with a warm room, a frightened courier, and a sealed tag that makes several powerful people nervous.
The other starts are alternate timelines:
- Raid on Mount Akhan: play during the climb, when the raid has not yet ended.
- Defend Mount Akhan: play from the mountain during the attack.
- Open Tengai: make a street-level character and begin with a local problem; the raid is distant news unless you pursue it.
Do not mix these timelines unless the GM explicitly declares a crossover or alternate-history campaign.
Your first ten minutes
- Choose a start. Choose Tavern Start for the clearest first session.
- Choose or create a character. A ready character gives you a strong premise. A new character needs a name, an immediate want, an existing capability, a boundary, and one relationship.
- Say what you want now. “I need medicine.” “I need work.” “I need to know who lied.” “I am getting my sister home.” Concrete wants create playable scenes.
- Act on the first problem. Ask questions, bargain, investigate, prepare, run, fight, hide, expose someone, or make a mess on purpose.
Make a character
Answer seven questions:
- Where are you from?
- What do you want right now?
- What can you do already?
- What will you not do?
- Who knows you well enough to complicate your day?
- What are you trying to build: a crew, home, reputation, craft, business, family, or escape?
- What would make today worse?
New characters begin at street level. You do not begin with a famous bloodline, advanced Numen, a Fellfruit, a legendary relic, or a faction title unless the campaign premise explicitly gives you one.
Begin with three specific Play Tags. A tag is a fact that can help or hurt: knows the harbor, wounded shoulder, good with locks, royal name, Soul Iron cuffs. “Cool” is not a tag. “Former Gate Market runner” is.
Tests
When the outcome is uncertain and failure matters, roll:
2d6 + the relevant Attribute Modifier + helpful Tags
Your sheet shows Attribute Scores from 0–20. Convert the score to a modifier:
| Score | Modifier |
|---|
| 0–3 | +0 |
| 4–6 | +1 |
| 7–9 | +2 |
| 10–12 | +3 |
| 13–15 | +4 |
| 16–18 | +5 |
| 19–20 | +6 |
- 10+: You succeed cleanly. Claim a striking detail or immediate advantage when it fits.
- 7–9: You succeed, but accept a meaningful cost, complication, reduced effect, or hard choice.
- 6 or less: The situation turns. The GM introduces a consequence and, when the fiction allows it, useful information.
A helpful Tag gives +1. A harmful Tag gives -1. Do not roll routine actions, and do not reroll an unchanged approach.
Your starting sheet
A new ordinary character begins with 1 in each Attribute, three Play Tags, and these resources:
- Health 100 — survival.
- Energy 100 — effort and exertion.
- Guard 25 — cover, armor, stance, or composure.
- Stress 0 — strain that needs genuine relief.
- Resolve 3 — dramatic effort.
Use the sheet’s displayed Test number, not the raw Attribute Score, when you roll.
The only rule that matters
Say what you attempt, what you want from it, and what you are willing to risk. A good turn ends with a decision. Failure is not a dead end; it changes time, safety, money, trust, evidence, position, or a relationship.
GODSEED is big, funny, dramatic, and sometimes cruel. Courage does not make a choice safe. It makes the choice yours.
