Murdering One Another

Murdering Another Mythender

Sometimes a Mythender just has to die. When another Mythender decides that, murder is quick to follow, and at least one Mythender is sure to die.

Murder Interrupts Almost Everything

Murdering another Mythender trumps nearly all other actions, even in battle. If you do something and someone else decides to kill you over it, you have to live to have your thing happen. The only things that Murder cannot interrupt: once dice are rolled for anything, you must Push Forward; and once a Myth is Ended, you cannot Murder until the aftermath is done (so no killing your friend who is about to Fall, unless you do it before you End the Myth.)

Who is involved

At least two people are involved, the Mythender starting the violence and the one she wants to kill. Others may get involved, if they want.

Use Bonds & Gather Dice

Mythenders start with 3 dice. They can break a Bond (Bonding to the Others) they have with someone else in the Murder, and gain 2 more dice. You must show how, with rage or calm, this Bond has been broken. Alternatively, show it breaking with regret as you’re are forced to fight the person who you have this Bond with.

If you break a Bond, gain 2 more dice and describe how your Mythender feels. When you break a Bond, strike it off the Bonds sheet, preferably in a dramatic fashion.

Roll Dice & Count Successes

Once everyone has their dice, roll them! are successes. There is nothing that can change this roll; Gifts don’t apply to Murder.

Someone Dies, Maybe Everyone

If Only Two Mythenders are Involved

Whichever Mythender rolled fewer successes dies. In the case of a tie, both die.

If More Than Two are Involved

If two or more tie for the most successes, everyone who acted (rolled dice) in the murder dies. Everyone. Otherwise, whoever has the most successes decides which Mythenders involved live and die. At least one Mythender must die.

Push Forward

Murder is quick and bloody. The winner describes the aftermath. The others can describe elements of their final moments, but to the victor go the rights to narrate.

No Coming Back

There is no coming back from Murder. You cannot be revived by another Mythender using her Fate’s power. Mythenders killed by another Mythender are forever peacefully dead.

Optional: Sharing

If there are more that two Mythenders involved, one can give half of their dice (round down) before rolling to help another Mythender. Describe how you’re aiding.

Example

Tzofiya and Unna are in a mortal town set near the base of Yggdrasil. Their battle with einherjar (Mythic Norden) caused a Blight—a river of fire—that tore through the town and killed many of its people. Unna sees the burned corpses, the survivors who are weeping, and feels guilt for her involvement in this tragedy. So she, as Fated to be the God of Death, declares she’s bringing them back to life.

Tzofiya stops her, trying to talk her out of this, as what she’s doing is as much of an abomination as the Myths they fight. Unna’s guilt is not eased by this, and she continues with her description.

Lily, Tzofiya’s player, says “I kill her.”

Once declared, it’s time to go to dice. They know they’ll describe what happens once the dice are rolled. Tzofiya and Unna each start with 3 dice.

Tzofiya has a bond with Unna, Unna shows me the worth of mortals. She describes breaking this bond by saying “Unna is violating the very thing that she has shown me, and it breaks my heart.” She gets 2 more dice, for a total of 5.

Unna likewise has a bond with Tzofiya, Tzofiya accepts all of me. Clearly, Tzofiya no longer accepts all of her, so she describes the anger at this betrayal. She gets 2 more dice, for a total of 5.

They roll their dice…

Tzofiya Wins

Tzofiya gets and Unna gets . That means Tzofiya has 3 successes to Unna’s 2.

Tzofiya describes how she stops Unna from raising the dead by slamming her blade into Unna’s back, turning it once to break her spine, and letting her body go slump. Unna is a Mythender no more.

Unna Wins

Tzofiya gets and Unna gets . That means Tzofiya has 2 successes to Unna’s 5.

Unna describes how she defends herself by using the power of Death, killing Tzofiya in doing so by ripping the life force from her throat. She uses this potent life force to reanimate the townsfolk. Unna could not help but kill Tzofiya, as that is fated once Mythenders turn on one another.

They Tie

Tzofiya gets and Unna gets . That means both of them have 3 successes.

Together, they describe how they kill each other. Tzofiya’s sword bites into Unna’s body, shattering her spine and spraying blood, while Unna grabs Tzofiya’s neck and rips the life from her. They are both dead. Time for new characters!

What Happens Afterward

With one or more Mythender slain, the group now has to decide how to proceed. Maybe interest in the game is lost, or that moment is the real climax of the adventure, so that story is over. Or you want to progress, making new Mythenders who immediately join up the cause to End the Myth that brought these Mythenders here.

If you make new characters, remember that Mythenders are nearly omniscient. The living Mythenders will know instantly that these new characters have become Mythenders, ready to get some deicide on. The new Mythenders will know what they are and the nature of the other Mythenders, dead and alive. (See When Mythenders Die & Fall for more on creating Mythenders after dying mid-adventure.)

Example

Drawing from the previous example, Lily and Nora’s Mythenders slaughter each other, and they want to keep playing because they relish the opportunity to play the characters who just became Mythenders thanks to their old ones.

Since they have experience making characters and there’s another player and Mythmaster waiting on them, they just spend a few minutes fleshing out Weapons, Forms, and a sense of personality. Then they describe the scene where their mortal hearts die and their Mythic Hearts come alive. Nora makes a Mythender who was raised from the dead by her old one, a Warrior Abomination of Death. Lily makes one lost her whole family thanks to the River of Fire Blight, a Crusader Mourner of Life.

Rashid waits patiently for the two new Mythenders to join him. “Shall we?”

They nod. It’s time to End a motherfucking god.