Advice wanted: Is this a good idea for a TTRPG system (or am I overcomplicating things)?
Full disclosure: this is my first time posting on Reddit, so please let me know if this doesn't adhere to usual structures/rules/etc.
The tl;dr of this is I have a series of ideas for a TTRPG system that I think would be interesting but limited experience in game design to actually put the thing together meaningfully and would love some guidance.
I suppose, to start at the beginning, the core of this system (affectionately nicknamed Mythmaker in my notes) is based on my longstanding love of mythology, making use of my thesis studying aspects of deities and their overlapping traits. I wanted to make a system that, rather than focusing on the apotheosis of a mortal being (as we can see in things like DnD where characters can become gods, but do not start as them), actually had the players create gods in the ways that gods are created mythologically and historically - through stories.
My goal for this game is very story-driven, and in the same vein, stories are the main mechanic through which players become stronger.
I wanted to start, rather than with the creation of a character, players identify a starting aspect such as an element, emotion, or state (e.g. lightning, happiness, illness, etc.) - in short, when we think of a 'god of', it needs to have an 'of'.
The players, from there, choose a couple of key symbols associated with their deity, as well as how they'd like to manifest on the material plane with some key limits - your number of aspects, and how strong they are, determine the capabilities of your manifestation. It takes at least three progressions to manifest as a 'person' or 'person-adjacent'.
In each adventure (called a 'myth'), the players must undertake a small story where their divinity actively influences the outcome on the mortal world. This can include giving boons to helpful mortals, making environmental changes, the occasional smiting, and importantly, they aren't necessarily limited to work only in their aspect (i.e. a lightning aspect god can use their divinity to make crops grow) but they only gain a relevant bonus in their aspect. The reason this is the case is that at the end of each 'myth', the players must assign each other one new or improved aspect by vote. In the same way that gods don't choose their own associations, having the other players vote on the new aspect captures the idea of stories taking life of their own.
I also like the idea of using either a tarot deck or something similar - where there is symbolism and interpretation of meaning - as a mechanism to add aspects, goals, boons or banes as the game goes on.
Other mechanics I think would be interesting to include, but are much more high-level considerations:
- subsuming other gods and their aspects under your name (or you being subsumed) and the story implications of that
- more longform 'epics' where multiple myths play out or run concurrently
I guess I want to know if it makes sense as internal game logic and whether these ideas can be feasibly executed in game design. Please let me know if you'd like me to clarify anything or explain what I'm going for a little more.