The Throne War:Roads

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World-Walking

There are secret paths that traverse all of the multiverse. They exist on land, in the sea, and beneath the earth. They are the purview of various Olympian gods and generally require a traveller to possess divine blood in order to traverse them safely. Mundane humans cannot even see or cross them, while great heroes might study high magic to force their way onto these perilous roads.

There are three different forms of World-Walking, depending on which god grants this power.

The Olympian Road is granted by Zeus and belongs to the gods of Olympus. It crosses forests, fields, and hidden alleys. This road provides access to any of the infinite Earths and the domains of supernatural beings in which Earth touches the sky. The Olympian Road ends at Olympus itself.

The Atlantean Road is granted by Poseidon and belongs to the ocean gods. It winds along oceans, seas, and rivers—both along the surface of the waterways and in their depths. This route reaches any realm in which bodies of water are found, crisscrossing until ending at the ruins of lost Atlantis.

The Hadean Road is granted by Hades and ultimately leads to the Underworld. It consists of underground tunnels, passages, warrens, steam tunnels, sewers, mine shafts, and subways. This road leads to any realm in which underground passes can be found.

Gaining this power for a single road costs 20 points. A second road costs only 10 more points, while a third road costs an additional 10 points. So having access to one road costs 20, two roads cost 30, and all three roads cost 40 points.

Finding a Road

Ego and Fortitude govern the use of this power. Locating a secret path requires the use of psychic senses by seeking invisible signs that mark a road. Ego determines how long it takes for characters to find the portal:

• Mortal Class Ego requires several days.
• Heroic Class Ego requires twelve to twenty-four hours.
• Olympian Class Ego requires two hours.
• Numbered Class Ego requires anywhere from a minute to an hour.

The environment also affects a character’s potential to find a desired road—if the required environment is not available for a given road, the route cannot be found:

• Olympian Road requires one to be outdoors.
• Atlantean Road requires one to be on or next to a

body of water.

• Hadean Road requires one to be underground.

Travel on the Road

Once a character is on the road, Ego reflects a character’s sense of direction on the path. Characters with higher Ego can maneuver along the road more easily and safely.

A character must be capable of movement to travel along a road, whether by their own power (walking or swimming) or other means (horseback or vehicle), if the path permits. Staying on the path requires effort— Fortitude determines how fast and how long one can travel a road:

• Mortal Class Fortitude requires great effort and must rest or leave the road after a few hours each day.
• Heroic Class Fortitude requires less effort and must rest or leave the road after approximately

twenty hours each day.

• Olympian Class Fortitude must rest or leave the road after a few days.
• Numbered Class Fortitude need not rest unless faced with additional difficulty or strain.

The environment along the roads change to reflect the different worlds through which they cross. The roads are always in contact with a world, though it is not noticeable to those traveling along them. Stepping off a road at any time means entering the world connected to it at that point. Getting back on the road is not so easy, however, since it requires proper points of entry as described above.

As characters travel a road, they clearly see when it shifts from one world to another—temperate forests suddenly turn tropical, city streets change from one technological era to another, smooth tunnels transform into rough caverns, underground cities morph into sewers, coastlines move, and seas alter their ferocities or colors. The skies, plant life, animals, and people seen along the journey also shift from one world to the next.

There may also be dangers along the way, like supernatural creatures and wild animals that are drawn to the roads. The gods often place defenders or barriers of different kinds to test, detain, or destroy those who trespass in their private realms. All of these dangers are just part of travelling along the roads. Characters must choose their pace—faster travel may mean slipping off the road to face these dangers. The wonder, opportunity, and majesty of having an infinite number of worlds within reach is worth all of these dangers.

Taking Others With You

A character can take others with him, even mortals, but the strain is harder, requiring more effort with Ego and Fortitude to locate and maintain a large enough route.

• Characters with Mortal Class Ego can take one or two individuals with him on a road.
• Characters with Heroic Class Ego can take up to a dozen individuals with him on a road.
• Characters with Olympian Class Ego can take up to one-hundred individuals with him on a road.
• Characters with Low-Numbered Class Ego can take up to a thousand individuals with him on a road.
• Characters with High-Numbered Class Ego can take thousands with him on a road.

Players can attempt to take more than the numbers stated above, but significant losses are likely to occur. Taking others on a road also increases the Fortitude strain. Characters taking others with them within the limits of their Ego are only able to stay on the road for half as long as they normally could. Taking more people along a road than normally possible limits the distance travelled to one-quarter the normal length

~All text taken from Lords of Olympus

Other forms of World-Walking

The so-called "Promethean Road" is the secret way Prometheus taught mortals to use so they could travel the roads. It's a 12 hour ritual that must be done at the entrance to a road (it does not tell you where that entrance is, you have to find one). Once the ritual is complete, you can get on the road for 8 hours at a time, fighting all sorts of dangers as the road considers you an intruder. It is likely not worth the 10 points extra you would get to forego the World-Walking Power, unless you really just like a challenge.

Daemonic servants and artefacts can also allow travel on a road for much cheaper, but if you should lose it, you're stuck. A servant could be anything from a creature that you ride, or maybe a hawk that you follow, or maybe its actually a minor god that serves you (that'll cost you a little extra if he has stats above Mortal); or maybe it's a compass that doesn't point north, or a map that changes to show your surroundings and highlights the road... these will only cost you a few points. 2 to 6, more than likely, unless you want them to have lots of powers of their own.

Finally, Advanced Scrying may allow skipping the road entirely, and simply travelling from one world to another. This is not easy nor quick, though it is quicker than actually travelling a road, and much safer.