God 101

[godsoffortune]

network  logs  ooc  meme  premise  rules  faq  GOD 101  shinki 101  calendar  locations  taken  reserves  gods  shinki  application  app status  prayers  prayer suggestions  shinki spells  regains  deaths  canon update  tag requests  hiatus  drops  suggestions  mod contact  npc contact  player contact   Existence | Physical Form | Bonds with Shinki | Cracked Vessel Shinki Shinki Bonds and Blight | Ayakashi and Blight | Abilities | Naming Shinki | Prayers Gods and the Near Shore | Death and Reincarnation | Shrines | Nora | TFS Specific Mechanics This guide is meant as a summary of the world-building in Noragami concerning shinki, and a supplement to our FAQ. Throughout the text, we will use examples from Noragami canon to illustrate different points, so there is the potential for minor spoilers. This guide is also supplemented with links to pages from the manga, shown with *. These have the potential to be much more spoiler-y, although we have tried to avoid major or late-canon spoilers. (Pardon the links to fan-translations. The official translations are more consistent with terminology and phrasing. Please support the official releases!) Information that is specific to The Far Shore game, rather than Noragami canon, is in bold. Existence Gods are born from the wishes of humans. So long as humans remember them, they will exist. In the world of Noragami, gods come into being as a result of a powerful wish and have a sense of their own purpose from the moment they are born. * For example, a god of rain might be born from the prayers and fervent wishes of farmers. New gods in The Far Shore appear to "fill the shoes" of existing gods, so they are not directly born from a wish. Rather than having an innate sense of their purpose, they are greeted upon their arrival by an emissary of Amaterasu and the powers, abilities and duties of their new role are explained to them. A newborn god has no sense of what is ‘right’ and ‘wrong’, merely of what does or does not fulfill their purpose. It is said among the older gods that "everything a god does is just." -- that is, because they are divine, gods' actions are all inherently righteous. Nevertheless, gods come to understand mortal concepts of right and wrong gradually through their shinki and by following the advice of their exemplar (their most trusted shinki.) Providing moral guidance to their god is considered to be one of a shinki's most important duties. Since they retain all of their memories and personal moral compass, new PC gods may not need the guidance of their shinki in the same way that a newborn god does. However, they are still strongly encouraged to respect the opinions of their shinki and heed their exemplar's advice. Physical Form A god has a corporeal form that can feel sensations such as heat, cold, pain and hunger. They are solid (i.e. they can be touched and can't walk through walls) and they can be injured, although it is much more difficult to kill a god than it is to kill a living human being. If a god is killed, the corpse will disappear, leaving only a bloody smear behind. This either happens when the god reincarnates, or after 24 hours if the god does not reincarnate. Gods native to the Noragami setting reincarnate as small children, with an innate sense of their purpose but no memories of their former life. Player character gods reincarnate in their normal bodies at their normal age, remembering all of their canon memories. They lose all in-game memories except for the most emotionally meaningful one. (For more details on death mechanics, please see the Death page.) Although neither gods nor shinki will die of starvation*, eating is useful on some level for keeping up their energy. For instance, Daikoku worries that a pained-looking Yato hasn’t been eating properly.* Likewise, gods seem to function better when they get some sleep, although it is not necessary. Gods are capable of hovering in midair, can jump great distances and can stand or run across surfaces too fragile to hold their weight, such as telephone wires or awnings. However, this isn't automatic. A god who fell out of a tree and made no effort would hit the ground as hard as any normal human, but a god who jumped off of a skyscraper could consciously slow their fall to reach the ground safely, or even hang in midair. Bonds with Shinki Shinki are spirits named by a god to remain on the Far Shore and serve as a god’s divine instrument. When called by the god, a shinki transforms into their "vessel," or instrument, form in order to serve the god. The vessel form can be almost anything, including clothing, household items, weapons or even living animals. Native Noragami gods can give a name to any pure spirit (i.e. untouched by ayakashi corruption) wandering on the Near Shore, thus transforming that spirit into their shinki. * If a spirit has been partially corrupted by ayakashi, it is possible to cut out the corrupted areas of their body before the god names them. However, this creates a damaged shinki, known as a "cracked vessel," who transforms into a broken or ruined item. Player character gods cannot usually find and name wandering spirits. However, they may have some opportunities to encounter and name NPC spirits through special Missions. Since player characters began appearing in the roles of "gods," a new type of shinki has appeared, colloquially referred to as the "soulless shinki." Soulless shinki have minimal personality, and although they can speak and act independently when in their normal forms, they fall completely silent when transformed into their vessel forms, as though they really are the inanimate objects they appear to be. Player characters can freely name soulless shinki left behind or rejected by other player characters. When a god names a shinki, the new name given by the god seals away the shinki's real name and the memories of their mortal life. If the shinki is told anything about their mortal life, and especially if they are reminded of their name, the spell will be broken and they will immediately remember their death. This will transform a shinki immediately into an ayakashi. The secret of a shinki's past and their name is known as the "God's Greatest Secret." Player character shinki DO remember their real names, but they remember nothing else about their life, and they will transform into ayakashi if they are told anything specific. The sole exception to this a memory regained via the memory regain mechanic, which a shinki can freely discuss. (Please see the FAQ or Shinki 101 for more details on shinki memory.) Gods can name a shinki against their will, and they can refuse to release a shinki who no longer wants to work with them. However, shinki can complain to the Heavens if they are treated in such a manner, and the Heavens can forcibly reassign them from their misbehaving god. Player character gods also have the power to name player character shinki against their will or refuse to release them against their will. Obviously, any situation like this should be worked out between the players OOCly before it's done. In cases where players want to form a different partnership but characters don't have an IC reason to dissolve their bond, the mods can move the shinki to a different god: the IC explanation for this is "Heavenly meddling" to reassign a shinki. Among native gods and shinki, the name given to a shinki is considered a special honor: they were saved from oblivion by a god's favor. Shinki strive to prove themselves worthy of this honor, and shinki who dishonor their name through bad behavior, accepting names from multiple gods, or acting against their god's best interests are despised and often outcast. Gods generally choose one of their shinki -- the one whose judgment they value above all others -- to serve as their "exemplar." A god's exemplar has the primary responsibility for providing moral and practical guidance to their god, as well as leading all of their god's other shinki. For gods who have only one shinki, that one is their exemplar, for better or for worse. New gods are also encouraged to heed the guidance of their exemplar. "Cracked Vessel" Shinki New gods can't name average wandering spirits, but as they gain more followers they may gain access to the opportunity to rescue and name spirits. (Further detailed information will be available on the Prayers/Missions page soon.) A spirit that was attacked by ayakashi and is being corrupted by ayakashi blight can be saved only by cutting out the infected areas. This leaves them severely wounded. (If left alone, they will die from their wounds.) A spirit that is injured in this way will become a cracked vessel upon being named. A cracked vessel is, as the name implies, physically fragile. While the shinki can still rend, gods will have to be careful how they use their shinki, or risk hurting or even breaking them. Another symptom of their damage is that while in vessel form, they lose a sense. Most commonly the shinki cannot speak. (We will allow players to choose which sense the shinki will lose, such as speech, sight or hearing.) The shinki can still draw a borderline, in both human and vessel form. It does not have a ‘vessel power' or any other abilities except for borderline and rend. The injured shinki heals physically over time, however a cracked vessel, because it was damaged at the time of naming, can never fully recover or be complete as a shinki. In vessel form it remains cracked. As stated in canon, "A spirit can't be a decent shinki once it's been disfigured." Should the shinki be later released and named by another god, because the spirit is now healed and clean at the time of naming, it would be able to become a normal shinki. Should the shinki be released and then later renamed by the same god, the vessel will remain cracked for them, because of their previous bond. Once a shinki has taken a certain form for a god, they will always take that form for them, even if they are given a different name. Cracked shinki are different from the soulless shinki. Cracked shinki have the personality of a normal person, and can form relationships with their god as well as act independently. The player that earns the cracked shinki uses them as their own NPC. Shinki Bonds and Blight There is a powerful bond between a god and each one of their shinki. Gods can sense the general state of mind of their shinki, as well as their presence, through the power of the name that they have given to that shinki. Although gods can't read their shinki's mind and wouldn't know the reasons behind any particular emotion, negative emotions can be felt, and manifest as a physical ache in the god's chest or even pain, as well as a sense of what the emotion is. For example, a god whose shinki was terrified would feel their own chest aching, as well as an awareness of their shinki's fear. * Player character gods' awareness of their shinki's emotional state extends to strong positive feelings as well as negative ones. A player character whose shinki was ecstatic with joy would be aware of that happiness. As part of the ability to sense their shinki's presence, gods have a general sense of what direction their shinki is in, if they stop and concentrate on it. Gods would also know immediately if their shinki was killed. They feel the disappearance of the shinki's name and they feel an intense pain in their chest. Since player character shinki do not disappear when killed, gods whose player character shinki is killed still feel an intense pain in their chest and are aware of any negative emotions associated with the death, but they do not feel the disappearance of the name unless the character is being dropped as well as dying. Gods with more than one shinki do not automatically know which of their shinki is experiencing a certain state of mind (for example, a god with two shinki would feel an ache in their chest and a sense that one of their shinki was afraid, but they would have to go and check on both shinki to see who was afraid.) They might also find it more difficult to determine the direction of just one of their shinki, and if they have a large enough number of shinki and a shinki dies, they would not even know which shinki it was who died. If a shinki commits any action for which they feel a sense of guilt, such as stealing, lying or self-harm, the guilt the shinki feels will 'sting' or 'blight' the god.* * It should be noted that the shinki will only sting the god this way if they themselves feel guilty over the action. A shinki with low moral values* or who can clearly justify their actions to themselves* will not sting their god. A shinki would only sting a god when they feel guilt over having committed an action they believe to be wrong. Feelings that are related to guilt, such as self-loathing or regret, would cause the god to feel an ache in their chest and an awareness of the negative emotion, but would not cause blight. For example, a shinki who thinks, "Something bad happened to my god, and I should have been there," is experiencing regret and blaming themselves for a bad outcome, but is not feeling guilt over a specific action. Their god would not be stung by that feeling. However, a shinki who thinks, "I snuck out to go enjoy myself at an amusement park and didn't tell my god where I was going, and while I was gone something bad happened to my god," would be likely to sting their god, because they believe they committed an action that was wrong (sneaking out without telling their god.) Stinging is considered the most emphatic way for a shinki to show their god what actions are 'right' and which actions are 'wrong'. However, a shinki who excessively stings their god puts the god in danger. Blight caused by stinging, unlike blight caused by touching an ayakashi, comes from within. It appears the skin like a painful bruise, hot to the touch and capable of spreading blight to anything that touches it, whether it's another part of the god's body or another god or shinki.* Blight caused by stinging starts at the back of the neck, and spreads from there to the back and then the rest of the body. It makes the god feel sick and exhausted, and if it goes on long enough and becomes severe enough, it can even kill the god. A shinki can resolve the blight from a mild sting by apologizing to their god and washing the blight away with water from a shrine. However, should the shinki not admit and apologize for their actions and continue stinging his god, the blight will go deeper and ayakashi eyes will begin to grow on the shinki. For cases that far advanced, the shinki must undergo a special purifying ritual, called an ablution, to remove the blight and save the lives of both the god and shinki. *** (Official translation notes: **) Ablutions are painful and dangerous procedures. Three experienced shinki must cooperate to cast the spell, and the shinki being cleansed will suffer great pain until they fully confess and repent of their guilt. Even after that point, the shinki casting the spell must keep it intact for several hours to finish removing the blight. An ablution can fail, either because the shinki being cleansed refuses to confess or repent, or because one of the shinki casting it is unable to maintain it until the subject is entirely free of blight. If an ablution fails, the shinki who is being cleansed can transform into an ayakashi, which effectively kills them and often results in their attacking and killing the other shinki and their god, if their god is not killed outright by the blight of having their shinki transform into an ayakashi. Should a god have many shinki and they all start becoming distressed, the god will get stung harshly because the effect is amplified over so many shinki. In order to avoid stinging their god, it's common for shinki to always try to repress their emotions and put on a happy face. However, that can lead to problems festering among a god's shinki until they become too serious to ignore. In a contrary example, Yato prefers that his shinki Yukine vent his troubles and gets it over with, because although it hurts it’s better in the long run. A shinki stinging his god is considered a very serious crime in the god's society. Most gods will revoke the name of a shinki that stings them, and a shinki released for that reason may find it very difficult to find a new god who is willing to give them a name. The symptoms of blight in both god and shinki can be concealed using particular medicines. This is considered a very bad idea at best, and more often seen as a terrible deception This is especially so when performed by a shinki, as the god will still be hurt by blight even if the shinki is concealing the symptoms in order to avoid blame. A shinki can choose to unrepentantly sting their god in return for such bad treatment as being forcibly named against their will or the god refusing to release their name. However that stinging will still cause symptoms in the shinki. Ayakashi and Blight Ayakashi are corrupt spirit beings, made from and drawn to negative human emotions such as loneliness, fear, anger and despair. They often take the form of monstrous animals, or other shapes that reflect the emotions that created them. For example, an ayakashi made from the loneliness of a baby crying in his crib takes the shape of a teddy bear. Ayakashi affect humans by encouraging their dark impulses and spurring them to do bad things. These actions range from simple mischief to theft and fraud to the most serious actions of murder and suicide. Small ayakashi usually only make meaningless noises like chirps or cackles. Mid to larger sized ayakashi are able to speak. However what they have to say is simple and limited, usually focused on persuading or luring their human victims. For example, "Cut him! Cut him! You've almost reached paradise." or "Your mama is with us. Come here. Come here..." Within range of a god, shinki or spirit they will also say "smells good", as uncorrupted souls are an ayakashi's favorite food. Once they notice a nearby god, shinki or spirit, ayakashi will attack in an attempt to devour their target. In addition to being created by negative emotions, ayakashi can enter the mortal world through vents (openings) from Yomi, the underworld. A large surge of ayakashi spilling from a vent leads to a sharp increase in bad happenings in the Near Shore. Where there is a lot of negative emotion, a ‘storm’ of ayakashi gathers. For example, it would get "stormy" around a high school around the time of final exams due to all the pressure and high emotions of the students. A variety of ayakashi would gather there. Ayakashi can cause blight to a god, shinki or spirit merely by touching them. The blight appears as a painful dark bruise, is hot to the touch, and is contagious by direct touch. Shinki in vessel form are resistant to blight. For instance, a sword shinki is not blighted by cutting an ayakashi, and an animal shinki is not blighted by using its teeth or claws to bring an ayakashi down. A god who has no shinki has no protection against ayakashi, and a shinki who is not with their god is equally unprotected. It is possible for a spirit or shinki to die from an ayakashi attack, but it would be very unusual for a god to be killed by an ayakashi attack (although they could be seriously injured.) Clothing can prevent being blighted by touch. For example, an ayakashi can be kicked because the shoe would protect the skin from direct contact. However, blight can slowly seep through clothes, and secretions from an ayakashi such as slime or saliva can also cause blight. Blessed water from a shrine or temple, such as what is found at the entrance for ritual hand washing, can cure blight from an ayakashi’s touch. Splashing some water on the blight makes it disappear. Ayakashi can be deterred by blessed water as well. For example, the god Yato opened a bottle of water in the mouth of a large ayakashi when it tried to eat him. The ayakashi quickly spit Yato and the water up, and was incapacitated for a moment. Smaller, weaker ayakashi would be able to stand the water even less. While it would harm them, it would not kill them, as only the ‘Rend’ ability performed by a god and shinki working together can kill ayakashi. Gods' Abilities Gods can see spirits on the Near Shore, including ayakashi, fellow gods and shinki, spirits associated with trees or landmarks, magical beings and ghosts. Gods can name a spirit, causing it to become bound to them as a shinki. They can also revoke the name they gave a shinki. Note that gods in the game cannot name wandering spirits. Wielding a shinki allows a god to destroy an ayakashi. They combine their power with their shinki's in order to 'Rend' the ayakashi, which is a specific spell used when the ayakashi is caught off-guard or is sufficiently weakened. As not every shinki is an overt weapon, it's up to the god and shinki to work together to find the best way to use their powers. The god can wield shinki, wear shinki, ride shinki, etc. It really depends on what their vessel form is. (For a visual example, please try watching this.) NOTE: In order to cast the Rend spell, the god character must speak the spell's words out loud with their shinki vessel in hand. For game purposes, we only require that "Rend!" be written out in a fight with an ayakashi, but we assume that the god character spoke the rest of the spell's words. This is how the mods will know that the spell was intentionally cast in a prayer thread, a mission thread, or an event/plot log. You may use any translation of the spell if you want to write the full text out. A god calls his shinki into their vessel form by simply calling their vessel name. For example, “Come, [Sekki]!” The shinki must be within hearing range of their god to be called into shinki form. Once they hear the call and transform, they will travel as a beam of light to materialize at their master’s side in vessel form. In the case of clothing shinki, the god is immediately wearing it. In the case of most items, the god is immediately holding it. The god and shinki can communicate by speaking to each other, although what the shinki says in vessel form can only be heard by his god and that god’s other vessel-transformed shinki. A rare few shinki may have audible voices when they are in their vessel form, such as for instance if their form is an animal that can breathe and speak. Only the god who named a shinki can use them effectively. A shinki’s vessel form can be picked up and held by anyone. However there is a sense of 'wrongness' about another god trying to use it, and the shinki would not be able to use their full abilities or powers. For instance, a vessel that is a knife might still be able to cut physical objects in the hands of someone other than their god, but would not be able to Rend an ayakashi. A god reverts a shinki from vessel form to human form by calling their true name. For instance, "Return, [Yukine]!" No one except the god who named them can transform or revert a shinki. A god alone, without her shinki, is at a severe disadvantage, but that being said, do not make the mistake to think a god without her shinki is useless.* Gods who have combat skills are still capable of using those skills, and some gods may have divine abilities that make them more effective. However, a god with no shinki will not be able to completely destroy ayakashi, no matter what her combat skill level or her special power are. Gods can teleport themselves, and any spirit or shinki touching them, between the Near Shore and into Takamagahara (heaven). They can also teleport around to locations in the Near Shore and heaven. This works better with the help of a connection between the god and their destination, such as appearing in front of someone that the god is currently on the phone with. Gods cannot teleport residents of the Near Shore (living humans). They can teleport pets or other animals from the Near Shore and into Takamaghara. Gods are able to jump extremely well, going far distances in both length and height in a single bound. They are also able to hover in the air or even fly, and can stand comfortably on objects that would ordinarily not hold their weight. (See the above ‘physical’ section for details.) Should a god have a follower that trusts them completely, the god may be capable of a 'divine possession'. The god can force out a person's spirit and take over the body. * The follower's spirit returns to the body once the god is finished. Please contact the mods if you wish to possess a living human in game, as this ability is restricted by the overall number of a god's followers. Naming Shinki Gods do not need to be told how to name shinki. They are innately aware of how to do it and know the words of the naming spell. To name the spirit, the god intones: "My name is [GOD'S NAME]. Grasping thy true name, I bind thee here. With borrowed name, I dub thee my servant. The name answers, the vessel to sound. I call thee as my divine instrument. The name, [KUN-READING]. The vessel, [ON-READING]. Come, [ON-READING + KI]!" The Japanese character (kanji) that the god has selected for their shinki's name will then be inscribed somewhere on the shinki's body. To help pick a character, try searching for name meanings you like at Jisho.org. The words for naming a shinki are a spell, and they must be used exactly in that way and that order. Trying to change or personalize the wording will cause the spell to fail. A shinki's name is a single Japanese kanji, which is used to make three different names, a “true name”, “vessel name” and “common name”. This naming system makes use of the fact that in Japanese kanji have at least two ways to be read. These two ways are the "on-reading" from the original Chinese pronunciation of a character, and the "kun-reading," which is a Japanese word written with that character. Player character shinki only receive two names in-game, the "true name" (kun-reading) and the "vessel name" (on-reading+ki), and keep their character’s real name as their “common name”. The true name of a shinki is the kun-reading of whatever kanji the god chooses as a name. The vessel name is the on-reading of the kanji. To call a shinki into their vessel form, the god will call out their vessel name plus "ki," 器, which literally means "vessel" or "container." For example, the canon character Yukine's true name is Yuki, 雪, which means "snow." His vessel name is Setsu, which is the on-reading of 雪. The name that his god calls in order to transform him into his vessel form is Sekki, 雪器. (Words ending in "tsu" sometimes drop the "tsu" in favor of doubling the next consonant in Japanese -- you don't have to worry about this grammar rule for player character shinki names unless you want to.) Canon gods give their character a common name based on the true name, but adding on an extra ending character of their choice. Most gods use the same ending character for the common names of all their shinki. For example, Yato uses a –ne ending as in Yukine and Tomone. Bishamon currently uses a –ha ending as in Kuruha and Aiha*. (Official translation notes: *) In the game, players are using a character’s normal name from canon as the common name. A shinki's vessel form is set at the moment the god finishes the naming spell. It's formed from a combination of the attributes of the shinki's own soul and the god's needs. For example, all of the shinki that Yato has used take the form of some kind of bladed weapon, but the type and style of weapon is different for each shinki. Shinki who are named by different gods take a new and different vessel form for each new name they receive. When a god finishes the naming spell, they immediately have a vision of a portion of the person’s past, focused on when they died. The god always sees the events of the shinki's death, and may see more information about their past as well. The amount of the shinki's past that the god sees is ambiguous in canon. A god player should discuss with their shinki's player just how much of the shinki's past the god would be able to see and know as a result of naming them. It would not be the shinki's entire life, but moments that were important or formative for them may be included as well as the vision of their death. Because bearing names given by two different gods at the same time is looked down upon, if a shinki wishes to become the servant of a different god, it's considered proper for them to ask their current god to release them before they ask the other god to grant them a name. To release a shinki, the god should call the shinki's true name and say, “I release you.” The name comes off the shinki’s body and shatters. Prayers Gods fulfill the prayers of humans. This benefits them by securing faith and belief in them in the minds of many humans, which in turn secures their existence and power in the world. In canon, most prayers reach gods by being written on ema (wooden plaques) and left at a god's shrine. The god can delegate the task of reading prayers to his shinki or do it himself. Gods can ask other gods to take on the prayer. For instance, Tenjin, a god of learning, passes off requests requiring ayakashi extermination to Yato, a god skilled in killing. In the game, fulfilling prayers also gives benefits by allowing a god to gain more followers. In-game gods may find prayers written on ema at their shrines or receive them in other ways that suit their divine role and pantheon. Gods and the Near Shore Beings of the Far Shore, including gods, shinki, and ayakashi, are not really invisible to living humans. Rather, they exist in people's "blind spots." Just as you couldn't remember the face of every person you passed while walking on the street, or say how many waitstaff there were in a restaurant, so too do the beings of the Far Shore remain unnoticed among living humans. * Because gods are not invisible, they can, for instance, walk down the street or spend time among living humans without being run into, stepped on or shoved. They will be ignored unless they try very hard to draw attention to themselves, though. If a god calls sufficient attention to himself he can be noticed and interacted with normally.* Once the interaction is over, the Near Shore person will readily forget about it. Ayakashi are further back in the blind spots, so they usually go unnoticed, even when causing mayhem. Animals and children, as well as those who are close to death, can more easily notice beings of the Far Shore.* Some humans also have spiritual abilities that allow them to see gods, shinki and ayakashi even when they may not be very young or close to death. Should a god or shinki have a picture or video of themselves posted to social media, they would still be subject to the "blind spot" effect -- that is, unless they were a person who could normally notice beings of the Far Shore, anyone viewing the picture or video wouldn't notice the god or shinki unless their attention were specifically drawn to them, and they would easily forget them again. Death and Reincarnation Gods can be killed, but killing a god (especially a powerful one) requires overwhelming force. For instance, a heavenly army, severe blight from multiple shinki, or the massed attack of a large number of ayakashi, would be required to kill a god. A single ayakashi attack is very unlikely to kill a god, although it can severely injure and disable them. Once killed the god disappears and is promptly reincarnated. The god appears before their main shrine in the form of a young child, with no memory of their previous incarnation or anything they learned previously. They only have the innate knowledge that they would have had as a newborn god, including their name, their purpose and basic divine abilities. They retain their bond with their shinki, although they will forget any personal relationships they had with those shinki. When player character gods die, they reincarnate according to the death mechanic, meaning that although they lose all but one memory from their time in game, they will still have the memories of their canon history and would appear to be their normal age. Player character gods who die will be reincarnated at their temple on the Far Shore. Shrines A god who has a shrine is able to travel to Takagamahara (heaven) from the Near Shore. A shrineless god can still go to Takagamahara by asking another god for permission to use their shrine and be sent there by that god. All new gods come into existence with one shrine on the Far Shore. If they are from a non-Japanese pantheon, they will also have another shrine in the original homeland of their god. For example, an Aztec god might have a shrine in Mexico, or a Roman god a shrine in Italy. Nora Nora, or ‘strays’, are shinki who have more than one name.* (‘Nora’ is also what one particular girl stray is called as a common name in canon.) Generally nora are looked down upon in the god’s society, stigmatized as disloyal and considered to have dishonored their names, and seen at best as vessels with which to do ‘dirty work’.* All normal aspects of a god's bond with their shinki apply to a bond with a nora. The god will be aware of a nora's state of mind and condition just as much as their regular shinki's. Should a nora do something they feel guilty for, they will sting all the gods connected to them. Nora have some advantage in their multiple names, because all the nora’s names need to be called before a spell can affect them.* If a nora is in a vessel form and is then called by another god by that other vessel name, they will (should they will it) transform into the other vessel and go to the other god.** Any god with a name for the nora can call them to revert them to human form. For example, once Nora transformed for Ebisu (god1), Yato (god2) can still revert Nora to her normal form.* Only gods who have named the nora can call them back to human form. Game Specific Mechanics This section will further address mechanics specific to 'The Far Shore' game. Entering the world Gods arrive at their temple with whatever they had on their person when they were 'snatched' into this world. This can include basic technology and weapons like communication devices, knives, guns, etc. They are welcomed by an emissary of Amaterasu and given a basic explanation of what's going on, including their powers, abilities, and duties as a god. Any questions they ask during this time will be answered, if possible. After being met at their temple, they will be escorted by the emissary of Amaterasu to Bishamon's temple, where they can meet their shinki, discuss their new role as a god and practice their new abilities. Gods can either have a bond with their shinki form upon their arrival, in which case they would have a vision of their shinki's death and be able to recognize them on sight, or they can choose to play out the naming after their characters meet. This is up to the player, but regardless of their choice, they will be told their shinki's name by the emissary and will be able to identify them. Unlike shinki, gods coming into The Far Shore do not necessarily have to have died before their arrival. They can have been plucked out of any point in their canon to appear in game. Temples Players are free to make up what their temple is like and submit the details to the Locations page. Players are allowed to have animals (or other creatures) appear within the temple grounds should they be related to the god in some way. For example, a temple to the goddess of the hunt Diana may have a forest with deer inhabiting it on her temple grounds. Creatures that are part of the temple in this way cannot leave the temple grounds. When a new god disappears, so does their temple. The temple turns into an empty lot overnight, looking as if it was recently bulldozed. Should another player app and ask for a god that was in the Far Shore previously, they will get to design their own temple for the god. Should the same player return with the same character and god request, they can have their previous temple reappear. The exception to the above are the temples of Japanese gods. The new god gets to take over the existing temple in heaven that belonged to the old god that they replaced. If this new god representing a Japanese god drops from the game, the temple will remain in heaven. In practical terms, this means that the first player to represent that Japanese god gets to design the temple, and should any subsequent players ask for that god, they will get that same temple. However, players are free to make additions and small changes to the temple as they like. Powers and Skills Ayakashi can only be defeated with the god’s ability Rend. A character's 'natural' (from their own canon) powers can help to weaken the ayakashi, but cannot ultimately destroy it. A god character can use their natural powers at any time. However, players may want to keep in mind any particular requirements for those powers that may be unique to their own world but lacking in Noragami's modern Earth environment. Regarding the god power given in this game (the one chosen when you apped), it is a power connected to how powerful the god becomes, which is OOC-ly shown by the number of followers gained. We will leave it up to the players to give their characters a reasonable curve of learning their new power over time in line with their follower gains. Shinki and Nora Once a shinki takes a form for a god, they will always take that form for that god. The god cannot release and rename a shinki and have the shinki's vessel change. Even if the name changes, the vessel will remain the same for that pairing. Should a shinki wish to become the servant of a different god, it would be proper of them to ask to have their current vessel name removed by their god before becoming named by another god. Players are welcome to do this. Players are also welcome to make their shinki characters nora. That is, to become named by more than one god. OOC-ly please discuss it with all players involved, and once it is played out please update your information with the mod team on the god and shinki pages. It is also possible for a god to name a shinki against their will, as well as refuse to renounce a name given. OOC-ly, this should of course be planned out and agreed upon by all players involved. Memories in Game New gods have a strong innate sense that telling their shinki about their previous life or their death will have dire consequences. Shinki also have a natural aversion to talking about their own past. Gods may slip here and there, letting hints of familiarity slip, so long as it is vague. This will, however, confuse the shinki and make them feel uneasy. However, any specific details or stories about a shinki's past would cross over the line and cause the shinki to fall. For example, in the case of something like a nickname from a god's and shinki's shared past, the nickname could be used but the shinki will only think of it as a nickname with no particular meaning. Should the god go further to explain the story of the nickname, or to specifically say something like "I used to call you this," it will cause the shinki to fall into being an ayakashi. In the case of shinki who have a god castmate who knows them well, the shinki may pick up on passive information about themselves. For example, that the god knows about powers they have that the shinki has not discovered for themselves, or the god mentioning something like "you were really cool, how you handled that back then." The shinki can come to understand that those statements are about them, but wonder just how the god knows about that power, or when that was that they were cool. Shinki who start to gather that those passive comments are potentially about their own past will be struck with a sense of discomfort and even dread- the kind of feeling that makes them think, 'I shouldn't think about this too hard.' It is like a fierce but unconscious self-preservation instinct. To the shinki that past did not happen, as far as their memory is concerned. It's blank, after all. And just how much the god knows about the shinki is part of the 'god's greatest secret.' The only memories that are safe to discuss with shinki, without causing a sense of unease or causing the shinki to become an ayakashi, are memories that the shinki has regained. A new shinki can regain a memory without any ill effect to themselves or others around them. Once a new shinki regains a memory, they can talk about it with others, including their god. Should the conversation wander to other memories however, the instinct gods have to preserve the "god's greatest secret" will prevent them from speaking about it any further. If the shinki gets told and remembers any further memories they will be transformed into an ayakashi and need to be killed. Canon gods will be naturally terrified of the emergence of shinki who can remember even a portion of their past, and may choose to completely avoid contact with that god and their shinki to avoid 'contamination'. The past is something that canon shinki don't think about, but when they start to it can consume them. Gods are free to speak with other gods about both their own memories and their shinki's memories. Canon gods will think that it makes for a strange topic though- even distasteful, in the case of shinki memories.