These are shamelessly cribbed wholesale from DM Blowhard.

Acts
An Act is anything a god does that has an effect on the universe. Communication between gods is not an act, but for a god to communicate with a mortal is. Each god receives a single Act every twelve hours (and possibly a few extras at the beginning of an aeon), which can be used in many different ways. A god can can save up to a maximum of six Acts, with any excess being wasted. Each type of divine action requires one or more Acts to use, and some are limited in the number of times There are several different types of Acts, which are described below:

Communication
Communication with a mortal is relatively simple for a god, but still requires an expenditure of power. This is how gods normally act, because acting through mortal servants is much easier than acting directly. By spending one Act, a god can communicate with a single mortal through a dream or vision, or with a group of mortals through a temporary manifestation or physical object (a book or monolith, for instance). Alternately, the god may communicate more subtly, inspiring a mortal or group of mortals to act on his wishes as their own. This is a one-time (and usually one-way) communication, not an ongoing link; to communicate again, another Act must be spent. A god may use Acts to communicate as many times per aeon as he wishes.

Miracles
A Miracle is a major act of creation or enhancement, be it physical or otherwise. Creating magic is a Miracle, as is giving souls to living beings. Making a continent float through the sky is also a Miracle, as is reviving a single dead mortal. Creating another dimension or altering a fundamental rule of the universe is also a Miracle, and a particularly powerful type at that -- such major changes can only be performed in the first aeon, when the world is still fluid, or as a major use of power by a pantheon (see Pantheon Acts, below). Creating a Prophet, Avatar or Demigod is not a Miracle, though; see Endowment, below. All gods are given a set amount of Miracles each aeon; this will generally decrease as the aeons pass, and such showy displays become more draining. Using one of your Miracles for the aeon requires spending a single Act if the Miracle in question is somehow related to your portfolio, or two Acts if it is not. If you attempt to work a Miracle that falls under a different god's portfolio, you must spend two Acts, and the god who controls that portfolio may "veto" your Miracle by spending one Act of his own. Therefore, it is prudent to get a god's permission before attempting to muscle in on his portfolio.

Curses
A Curse is the opposite of a Miracle, a major act of destruction or weakening. This may be anything from unleashing a plague of locusts, to introducing a previously-peaceful people to the concept of violence. Like Miracles, all gods have a set amount of Curses each aeon, and using one of your Miracles for the aeon requires spending a single Act if the Miracle in question is somehow related to your portfolio, or two Acts if it is not. A Curse that is not vetoed cannot be blocked directly, though the effects can usually be repaired or mitigated with the use of a Miracle. Attempting to lay down a Curse that does not fall under your portfolio can be negated by the god whose portfolio it does fall under, if any, with the expenditure of one Act.

Endowment
A god may imbue a mortal creature or object with some of his divine power, creating a prophet, avatar, or artifact. The general term for this is Endowment, and it requires a great amount of divine energy to perform. The number of Acts required to perform an Endowment depends on the type of divine being created, but each god recieves only a limited number of Endowments each aeon.

- Prophets: The most basic endowment is for a god to create a bond with a mortal creature or object, making it a prophet or oracle. This can be a person, an animal, or even an object or location. If the oracle is a location or object, it is permanent until destroyed. If the oracle is a mortal creature, the god may put into place a method of succession, such as making the firstborn child of any oracle into a new oracle, causing the prophet to be reincarnated after each death, or linking the power of prophecy to the position of king. Regardless of the particulars, prophets are gifted with power beyond that of normal mortals, and can work minor miracles (turning water into wine, calming wild animals, healing the sick, or other feats depending on the god's portfolio) in order to prove their divinity. The benefit of creating a prophet is that it can act as the foundation for a religion, uniting worshipers together under a common cause. It also simplifies communication, to some extent; a god is aware of what happens to its prophet and knows all that the prophet does, and can Communicate with or through his prophet once per aeon without using an Act. Creating prophets, therefore, is an investment. A god may have as many prophets as he wishes, though making too many tends to cheapen the importance of each. Creating a prophet costs only one Act.

- Avatars: More powerful than a prophet, an Avatar is a permanent physical manifestation of divine power. This may take any form the god wishes; an archangel, a dragon, or any other form. Generally speaking, though, an avatar is not made any more or less powerful by its form, since the amount of divine energy within it does not change. An avatar appears only when necessary; it can be called upon once per aeon to work an effect similar to a Miracle, without consuming any of the god's Acts or Miracles for that Aeon. An avatar's power is more limited than a god's, though, and it cannot extend farther than its worshipers do. So while an avatar could fight alongside an army of the faithful or rescue a kidnapped prophet, it could not invade a rival kingdom by itself. An avatar is usually used to attack or defend, but can also perform any other sort of miracle related to its creator's portfolio. A god may only ever have one avatar, and if it is destroyed, it cannot be restored for one full Aeon. Creating an avatar requires two Acts.

- Artifacts: An artifact is similar to an Avatar, but in the form of an object rather than a being. An artifact has one power or set of closely related powers, which must be related to the god's portfolio, chosen at the time that the artifact is created. This replicates a Miracle or Curse. This artifact may be used up to twice per aeon, by spending a single Act. Only worshipers of the god who created the artifact may use it, but a prophet can convert or destroy the artifact of a rival god if he comes into possession of it. Converting it alters the artifact's powers, so that they still have the same basic function (destroying enemies, protecting a nation, enhancing crops, or whatever the original artifact's purpose was), but are tainted by the power of the artifact's new controller. Converting or destroying a captured artifact requires one Act.

Descriptions
When posting, please describe your Act in as much detail (or as little) as you deem necessary, but be aware that Ao decides how to interpret your actions. If you clearly state your intention, Ao may be more likely to honor it, but do not complain if things do not turn out like you hoped. Also, roleplay is the lifeblood of a god game, so try to avoid oversimplification.

Time
Each turn (12 hours of real time) represents 250 years of in-game time. Each day at 12:00 PM (Central Time), and again at 12:00 AM, all gods will receive 1 Act. Ao will report on the result of each godly act at midnight (or possibly later, due to time constraints in the bizzare realms Ao deals with on a regular basis). While Ao is updating, you may not make any actions.


Gods
The players, as gods, are composed of tiny sparks of Ao's divine power, which he willingly split off from himself for entertainment. You are incredibly powerful, with Ao himself the only being above you. However, Ao has placed some limitations on you, mostly in the form of rationing out divine power in Acts, Miracles, Curses and Endowments, but also in a few other ways:

The Planet
In his infinite wisdom, Ao has seen fit to confine you all to a single planet in the endlessness of the void. While your range technically extends from it -- far enough to create stars, moons, or other celestial bodies, anyway -- the majority of the action will take place on or in the planet itself. The planet is entirely yours for the shaping. Terraforming is allowed, and expected, at least during the first Aeons. Destroying it, however, will swiftly earn you the wrath of Ao, and likely the other gods as well. Remember, it's their planet too.

Worshipers and Divine Conflict
Ao does not expect his children to play nicely. However, watching a few gods blasting each other with their infinite divine power for all of eternity isn't particularly entertaining. That is why gods are not allowed to fight directly. "Attacking" another god is like brandishing a flamethrower at an ocean; flashy, but ultimately useless. That's where worshipers come in. Because you must rely primarily on mortals to have a great effect on the world, attacking another god's worshipers is the best way to hurt the god himself, weakening and embarassing him. If a god should end up with no worshipers, he is in dire straits indeed. Ao may elect to allow him to attempt to restore his presence in the world by giving rise to a cult and growing from there, but such mercy is entirely up to his inscrutiable whims.

Portfolio
As a tiny portion of the larger whole that is Ao, the lesser gods are limited in their focus. Upon creating your god, you must declare a portfolio; a few closely-related concepts that you are more easily able to manipulate. This portfolio can be a tangible thing, like "forests," or a more insubstantial one like "beauty." Gods may have some overlap in their portfolios, but no more than two gods can have the same aspect as part of their portfolio, and two different gods cannot share more than two of the aspects of their respective portfolios. So there could be a god of Light, Truth and Knowledge, and another of Light and Fire, but there could not then be a third god with Light in its portfolio, or another god that had both Truth and Knowledge. In between Aeons, you may alter your portfolio, or Ao may alter it himself to reflect your actions. Your portfolio determines how your divine power tends to manifest, and gives you the ability to veto other gods who attempt to work Miracles or Curses that directly impose on your portfolio, as long as the other god does not also have that aspect (or a similar one, determined by Ao) in their portfolio. A god with the portfolio of Time, for instance, could spend one Act to negate another god's attempt to grant the power of prophecy to his people, as long as the god in question did not have Time, Prophecy, or a similar aspect in their portfolio as well.

Pantheons
Those gods who pledge to share their works openly with one another will be called a Pantheon. There are several advantages to forming a Pantheon, in addition to the obvious advantages of cooperation.

- Pantheon Worshipers: Firstly, a pantheon of gods can share worshipers; normally a given mortal can only be considered a "worshiper" of one god, but in the case of a Pantheon they may worship the pantheon as a whole, giving all of the Pantheon's component gods influence over them.

- Pantheon Prophets and Artifacts: A pantheon may collectively make Prophets, Artifacts and even an Avatar; the Acts and Endowments required to do so may come from any god or combination of gods, but the result is under the control of all of them. In the case of a prophet, this means that any of the Pantheon's gods may speak through the avatar, and each one may do so for free once per Aeon. In the case of an Artifact, it functions for the worshipers of any of the Pantheon's gods, and its powers may be drawn from any or all of them, but it still only functions twice per Aeon.

- Pantheon Avatars: In the case of an Avatar, things are more complicated; any god in the Pantheon may command it, and its powers may be drawn from any of their portfolios, but it is no more powerful than a regular avatar and is still limited to one Miracle per Aeon. However, further Endowments may be spent at the time of the Avatar's creation -- up to a maximum of one per god in the pantheon -- in order to increase the Avatar's power. For each Endowment used to create the Avatar, it may use its powers once per Aeon. So an Avatar created with one Endowment only functions once per Aeon, while one with three functions thrice per Aeon. Each god that contributes an Endowment may not have any other Avatar for as long as the Pantheon's Avatar survives, and if the Pantheon disbands, the Avatar is weakened, losing one Endowment for each god that leaves whether or not that god contributed one.

- Pantheon Actions: Every Pantheon receives one or more extra actions per aeon. One action is granted for each god in the pantheon, minus 1. These actions may be used to work a Miracle or Curse, from the portfolios of any god in the pantheon, without any of the individual gods expending any other Acts, Miracles or Curses for the Aeon. Furthermore, these actions may be stronger than normal Curses or Miracles, representing the extra divine power behind them; generally speaking, the sort of Miracles that could only be accomplished in the first Aeon can still be worked by Pantheon actions. However, the Pantheon may only use these actions collectively -- a majority of the gods in the Pantheon must agree to their use. If a majority agreement is not made, they cannot be used.

- Pantheon Leaders: It may come to pass that, for some reason, a Pantheon declares one god to be its leader. This may happen for many reasons, including extortion, bribery, or even to curry favor with a clearly stronger god by elevating them to a position of leadership. Having a leader also makes it harder to disband a Pantheon. The leader gains several advantages, though; firstly, they have absolute control over the use of Pantheon actions. Second, they may freely access the Portfolios of the Pantheon's other gods. And third, they can force or forbid a god to leave the pantheon (see below).

- Leaving/Dissolving a Pantheon: Leaving or dissolving a Pantheon is a serious event. If the Pantheon has no leader, then all of its members are injured by the sudden fracture; each member, including the one leaving, loses their next Act. If it does have a leader, though, then the god who leaves and the leader himself are the only ones who lose an Act. Furthermore, they immediately suffer a Curse from the Pantheon's leader, that does not cost the leader any Acts or Curses for the Aeon. These penalties apply regardless of whether a god leaves voluntarily or is banished. Dissolving a Pantheon is somewhat different; regardless of whether it has a leader or not, all of its members must unanimously agree. In that case, dissolving the Pantheon does not take any Acts from the gods, but can still have major effects on the Pantheon's worshipers and any Prophets, Artifacts and Avatars they have made. Avatars are destroyed, Prophets lose their power, and Artifacts become wild and uncontrollable, subject to the whims of Ao. Furthermore, this tends to cause chaos in the religions dedicated to the Pantheon, as religious wars break out and groups split off. Generally, dissolving a Pantheon should be avoided when possible.

While there is no limit to the size of a Pantheon, bear in mind that Ao is a rather immature overgod, and becomes bored easily. In the (very unlikely) event that all of the gods should attempt to form an alliance, expect hilarity to ensue.

Technology and Magic
Technology and magic are both used by most mortal societies to sustain themselves, and generally make life easier. No creatures have access to magic at first, but once it is created, it evolves much like technology. Give a society access to elemental-binding magic, and they might start with magically burning spears. Give them a few hundred years, and they might come up with lightning trains, airships, and omnimental bombs.

Magic
"Magic" is loosely defined as any sort of supernatural ability wielded by mortals. Giving a group of mortals access to magic is a Miracle, but since each religion, race or region approaches the supernatural differently, the details of the particular brand of magic created vary. A god of smiths might give his worshipers the ability to inscribe magical runes, for instance, while a god of beauty might teach his followers to work magic through art. Magic can also be learned and taught from the interaction of different societies; there is no such thing as a type of magic exclusive to one culture or race (though its practitioners might keep its secrets well in order to retain a monopoly on it).

Technology
Technology is never blatantly supernatural, but does not require a Miracle to create and is generally broader. Almost all societies rely at least partially on technology, because the various types of magic are simply too narrow to cover all aspects of life. While a race proficient in necromancy may use it to create cheap manual labor and foot soldiers, they likely need technology to irrigate the fields that their undead minions work, preserve the resulting food, or transport their armies of the dead. Cross-cultural interaction greatly speeds up the development of technology, as various societies develop different aspects of technology faster and share these discoveries with others.

Ao has permitted the gods to make actions hidden from the eyes of other divinities, but the task is far more difficult than it would be otherwise. Secret actions must be put into whisper tags or private messaged to Ao, and take an extra Act to accomplish.

Prayer is a form of energy provided by mortals to the gods. During the first Age, Prayer has little meaning, as the gods' power is raw and nearly unlimited. However, during later Ages, as the power of the gods wanes, Prayer becomes a vital resource. A god with insufficient Prayer after the third Age dies, never to return. However, it should be noted that Prayer is neutral; that is, the Prayer generated from a culture that hates and fears a god is just as valid as the Prayer generated from one that praises and worships that god.

Prayer can, when collected in sufficient quantities, empower certain items, locations, and even abilities. Subject to the whims of Ao, Prayer may grant the gods limited miracles above and beyond their normal limit for an Age. Additionally, Prayer can cause the creation of Holy Sites and Holy Relics; places and objects suffused with the energy of belief. Aside from being potent symbols (thus potentially allowing a clever god to harness even more Prayer), these places function as a sort of minor artifact, but only for those beings who believe, at bare minimum, in the power and existence of the god they are linked to. Each Holy Site or Holy Relic is wholly unique, and as such no hard-and-fast rules for them exist. However, it is possible for a clever deity to manipulate their worshipers into creating them.

Immortals are (formerly) mortal beings that have been granted divine power and authority; in fact, it would not be unreasonable to state that Immortals are to gods what the gods themselves are to Ao. Immortals are, as their name suggests, largely immortal; unless claimed by violence or magically virulent diseases or poisons, they do not die. Furthermore, each Immortal has a Portfolio, not unlike the godly concept thereof, which they are responsible for, such as Death, or Wine. The Immortal has power over this Portfolio (as determined by Ao) that allows them to interact with it in ways not created by the gods and past the capabilities of mortals, up to and including being able to invoke a single Miracle once per Age related to it.

Immortals are reliant on their Portfolio; they must see to its interests nearly constantly (if able) or else lose their status as Immortals. They are, however, otherwise free willed, and are under no obligation to actually serve the gods. An Immortal may not also be a prophet, and vice versa.

Immortals may sometimes be created on their own, but creating an Immortal purposefully is a two Act Endowment.

What is an Intervention? It's a lot like an interactive cut-scene, really; it's a chance for a god to intervene in the life of a single mortal or group of mortals in a fashion that could have long-lasting ramifications. Basically, just before (or during) certain updates, I'll PM the god(s) in question (depending on whether or not I judge that you'd notice or care), who can choose to let it slide, or Intervene. Interventions consist, at the very least of a Communication, but for the price of that single Act, you can also choose to roll one of your miracles into it, thus changing the world. Some examples can be found below:

A group of mortals is arguing about which is favored by their goddess, the wise and powerful Jo Momma. In full view of their entire city, they all cry out to the heavens, "Jo Momma, which of us is most in your favor?" Jo Momma chooses to Intervene, but only by Communicating; she causes a small child in the crowd to rise in the air and glow with the warmth of her love before setting him down.

Jo Momma's prophet, the cunning and wise Yo Daddy, is being menaced by a terrible pack of hybridized wolves, and he calls out to Jo Momma, begging in earnest faith for her aid. Jo Momma chooses to Intervene, and uses one of her Miracles to create a servitor-race of beings in her image, but with glasses and long, ruler-like blades with which they defend Yo Daddy and drive off the predators. These Teachers now exist to defend the earnest faithful, in addition to being an impressive Intervention.

Servitor Races are a lot like normal races, with some significant exceptions. Servitor Races exist for a single purpose - such as "Grant knowledge in exchange for sacrifice" or "defend this temple" - and cannot deviate from it. Though sapient, they are not free-willed and cannot worship. Finally, Servitor Races come into being with a certain measure of their creator's power, as represented by a scattering of random powers granted either by their creator or Ao.

Creating a Servitor Race takes one Act, and is a Miracle.

A single turn represents 250 years of in-world time or 12 real-world hours. At the beginning of each turn all deities gain a single Act to use as they deem fit. Every two turns (24 hours) the OD will stop the use of all acts (using a post such as 'The World is Changing...') after which they will compile the Acts the various deities have performed and then post how these changes have come into play and effected the world. This gives deities time to counter the acts of each other while also setting a dead-line by which people must post if they intend to use acts these turns.

An Age occurs after a preset number of turns have passed. The simplest method would be to use a week as the standard (so once every 14 turns). At the start of each new age all deities will receive a new allotment of Miracles, Curses and Endowments to use as they see fit during the current age.

As mentioned above each deity will receive a number of Miracles, Curses and Endowments at the start of each new age. These allotments will decrease (and occasionally increase) as ages pass. In addition the OD may grant additional allotments to specific deities based on there actions during the previous age (cultivating mass prayers is always a good way to acquire additional Miracles or Curses depending on the nature of the prayers). The exact number of Miracles, Curses and Endowments given are ultimately up to the OD but certain ages will inform this decision;

The First Age. The world is young and malleable making Miracles and Curses much easier to perform and capable of much more powerful effects (such as the creation of entire continents, oceans, celestial bodies and peoples - or the destruction of such ). However, as the world is still roiling the creation of direct divine conduits proves much less reliable resulting in fewer endowments during this age. Guidelines - Miracles: 8, Curses: 8, Endowments: 4.

Second Age. The world is now stable. Miracles/Curses are no longer able to directly cause dramatic changes to the planet though other methods of change (such as volcanic eruption or excessive flooding) or the co-operation of several deities can still effect such changes. The 'goal' of this age is for a deity to establish a steady stream of prayer that they may survive into the next age - as such 'flashier' displays of divine might and direct contact with mortals will be needed. Guidelines - Miracles: 6, Curses: 6, Endowments: 6.

Third Age and onwards. The state of the world is set. Any deity that does not have a stable source of prayers ceases to exist - or persist in a greatly diminished state [see addendum]. It is now that the surviving deities begin the task of increasing there power hold over mortal world. Direct divine action becomes more and more draining as time marches onwards making subtle influence and control the preferred tools of these aeons - though if needed the deities are still capable of conjuring up Miracles and Curses to defend themselves and their holdings. Guidelines - Miracles: 6, Curses: 6, Endowments: 6 (each of these reduces by one after each additional aeon (to a minimum of 1 each aeon)).

In addition the OD have the ability to proclaim special ages. The exact rules and nature of these special ages are up the the OD themselves but are often influenced by the actions of deities in the age before. For example if a large number of deities began taking offensive action towards one another the new age could be proclaimed an Age of War - resulting in additional Curses being allotted to each deity and reducing the cost of creating an Avatar.

Inevitably a player will wish to enter or leave a game in progress - both actions that can be resolved relatively easily. For a deity to retire is simply a case of them dividing up the aspects of there portfolio - either returning them to the OD or giving them out to deities (or potential deities) of there choice (though the OD has final say in these matters). Any deity leaving the game may also be given the option of persisting behind the scenes as a vestige deity (see Addendum above) so that they may return later if they so wish - though they will still have regain their former portfolios (truly crafty deities may create schemes by which to fuel there rebirth in such occasions - think Bhaal and Bane from the Forgotten Realms).

Deities joining the game prior to the third age need simply carve out a place for themselves in the primordial world. Those entering afterwards will require some portfolio to ensure there survival (perhaps a fraction of an existing deities in exchange for alliance). Assuming they can acquire a portfolio (or the OD simply devises one for them) they are free to interact and commune as any other deity - though they must be careful about treading on the toes of older, stronger deities.

One of the first things to jump out is that this thing doesn't have an in-built end game - outside of the OD simply closing shop or a single deity claiming dominion of the entire world (a herculean task assuming there is any resistance at all to oppose them) the game will simply go on until people lose interest in it. Not a terrible thing for a game of this nature and not something I feel could be adequately fixed without changing the point of the exercise but it is something people should be aware off when they begin.

Alternatively if interest does dwindle the OD could simply instigate an apocalypse scenario - some cataclysmic force or external threat of a magnitude great enough to end the world. Or at the very least reduce it to a state where direct divine intervention would be required again to pick up the pieces (perhaps allowing particularly strong deities to save their followers and ensure there survival in the 'new world'). Just a thought.