Great Game

Kings, priests, heroes, and mages are all chess pieces of the Lunar Gods in the Great Game. The Game sparks wars, moves nations, topples kingdoms, and shapes theology. Few know of the Game's existence, but nearly all people are affected by it in some way.   The Great Game is an agreement between the ascended mortals of the Lunar Pantheon to determine which Lunar Gods reign supreme where. It is a set of rules, goals, and acceptable methods of competition between these Gods: how a God can claim a person, place, or thing, what kinds of violence are unacceptable, how to keep divine influence from causing inter-species conflicts. While the Great Game's rules condemn the worst acts of violence and escalation, they do permit and even encourage massive military violence and religious persecutions. By the Great Game, paladins and holy warriors are transformed into vehicles of political squabbling and pointless grandstanding - they are told to slay evil but find themselves cutting down servants of a rival god to score imaginary points for some heavenly contest.   The Great Game began conceptually in the 1500s ME, five hundred years ago, and has become a reality in the last few centuries. Alliances have formed between the Lunar Gods, but at the end of the day it is every god for themselves. The Game allows for a "winner" to someday emerge, should one God fully dominate the world's power structures, though it seems unlikely that anyone will 'Win' anytime soon (or perhaps ever).    The Great Game has been useful in insulating certain projects and institutions from Lunar meddling and infighting: the international blockade of the Empire of Runeva, the support for the operation of the Exorcist's Guild and the Healing Church across many continents.