Michael Hopcroft Posted October 6, 2013 Report Share Posted October 6, 2013 If a god is physical, can he be killed? If there are competing gods running around and some of them are causing great harm to humanity, I wonder whether some especially quixotic (or suicidally brave) PCs might go out, seek powerful weapons, and try and draw the "evil" gods out into the open and destroy them. Or, at the very least, compel them to return to their own plane and stop making mischief for man. A spiritual god is, of course, impossible to affect physically. The most you can do is go after their worshipers. A god without worshipers, of course, can still affect the physical universe, and if its following is wiped out it might just get ticked off to do a lot of damage -- and then the PCs might find some way to appease a being they probably cannot even comprehend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gangrel44 Posted October 14, 2013 Report Share Posted October 14, 2013 Personally I favor both types Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucius Posted March 9, 2015 Report Share Posted March 9, 2015 In Hero we presumably have a third option: Mental Gods Lucius Alexander Physical, Mental, and Spiritual Transform into Palindromedary A God with Multiform could go from one to the other and back. One with Multiform and Duplication could manifest all possible aspects simultaneously. Lucius Alexander I have a palindromedary Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Liaden Posted March 9, 2015 Report Share Posted March 9, 2015 If a god is physical, can he be killed? If there are competing gods running around and some of them are causing great harm to humanity, I wonder whether some especially quixotic (or suicidally brave) PCs might go out, seek powerful weapons, and try and draw the "evil" gods out into the open and destroy them. Or, at the very least, compel them to return to their own plane and stop making mischief for man. Howard's Conan killed several evil gods during his career, although he usually needed supernatural help of some sort. Of course you could argue that they weren't "gods" by whatever definition you prefer; but they were superhumanly powerful and worshiped by mortals. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alcamtar Posted March 19, 2015 Report Share Posted March 19, 2015 This being Hero, I like the idea of physical gods that are statted up. If PCs are Indiana Jones, the gods are Superman. Well maybe not killable, They are not killable to starting PCs, but baby PCs grow up to be demigod PCs, and then all bets are off. And even if they are not killable (immortality and all) they are definitely fightable. How awesome is it to go to hell, haymaker Orcus, and while he's recovering from being stunned, grab his OAF wand and get the @#$% out of there... You can't kill him, but you can definitely inflict some knockback! Gods are not physical because it makes any sense. They are physical because Hero makes it possible (and fun!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mhd Posted March 19, 2015 Report Share Posted March 19, 2015 Fightable gods always gave off a slightly Star Trek-/Marvel/D&D-ish vibe to me. I like my metaphysical entities more metaphysical. And I particularly got a peeve about ascended PC gods. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Badger Posted March 19, 2015 Report Share Posted March 19, 2015 Assuming it comes up I prefer it be mostly spiritual (though not ruling out completely an occasional physical manifestation, if a point needs to be put across) with possible subtle (or occasionally not so subtle) manipulations on the world at large. Ideally, the full-on physical god will turn out to be some insanely powerful wizard or other kind of magic user who ends up getting worshipped as the local god-king. (bonus points: If the would be god actually thinks he is one) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucius Posted March 19, 2015 Report Share Posted March 19, 2015 Next up: Physical characters or Spiritual characters? Is your player character a physical being capable of spiritual experiences - or a spiritual being having a physical experience? Lucius Alexander Transcend duality! urges the palindromedary Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Liaden Posted March 20, 2015 Report Share Posted March 20, 2015 My player character is two-dimensional, originally made of paper and pencil or ink; nowadays more often made up of pixels. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucius Posted March 20, 2015 Report Share Posted March 20, 2015 My player character is two-dimensional, originally made of paper and pencil or ink; nowadays more often made up of pixels. In the words of Linus Van Pelt: The theological implications are staggering Lucius Alexander The palindromedary questions whether this has any implications for the nature of the player character's Gods Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Liaden Posted March 20, 2015 Report Share Posted March 20, 2015 The player-character's God would be the Game Master. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L. Marcus Posted March 20, 2015 Report Share Posted March 20, 2015 Best placated by offerings of pizza and cheesy snacks and libation of Mountain Dew. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alcamtar Posted March 20, 2015 Report Share Posted March 20, 2015 Player characters are spiritual of course, since they only exist in the mind. i had a setting once in which PCs were unwitting avatars/pawns for gods (the actual players). If a PC died it could be re-incarnated to continue play. The GM of course was also a god. Gods could not manifest in the game-world, since of course they live in a different (and higher order) reality; at best they could be imperfectly represented through their avatars. But of course one could *talk* to the gods. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucius Posted March 20, 2015 Report Share Posted March 20, 2015 I like to use the term Game Operations Director Lucius Alexander the palindromedary buys Extradimensional Movement to a location near you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mister E Posted March 29, 2015 Report Share Posted March 29, 2015 Immanent vs. Transcendent... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Narf the Mouse Posted March 31, 2015 Report Share Posted March 31, 2015 ...It's a complete and total non-issue. It's a fictional setting. It can have purple panda gods with pink polka-dots if it can make the idea fun, interesting, or otherwise worthy of my gaming dollars. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Hopcroft Posted April 15, 2015 Report Share Posted April 15, 2015 ...It's a complete and total non-issue. It's a fictional setting. It can have purple panda gods with pink polka-dots if it can make the idea fun, interesting, or otherwise worthy of my gaming dollars. Who are served by powerful plaid penguin paladins piling pretty peaches while wielding perfect puce parasol parachutes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Liaden Posted April 15, 2015 Report Share Posted April 15, 2015 Coming as a new zone for World of Warcraft. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Hopcroft Posted April 17, 2015 Report Share Posted April 17, 2015 V's theoretical monsters might well show up in some people's games.("The dreaded bunnywolf? The ferocious penguinlion? Perhaps the terrible ducksnake?") Getting back to gods, would PCs (or anyone else) be able to tell the difference between a genuine god (or demigod) and a powerful person claiming to be one? (This assumes polytheism. A monotheist would at best give you a funny look and at worst start looking for some big, hard rocks to hit you with if you told him you were God.) It would hardly be surprising that if it were commonly believed that deities walk among us that belief would be taken advantage of. In polytheistic civilizations like Egypt and Rome, it was not at all uncommon for a national leader to claim divinity. The claim did not imply some of the qualities we associate with divinity, such as immortality (Julius Caesar was still considered divine despite being vulnerable to blades, although other Emperors lost their status after their deaths because people no longer feared their retribution -- Caligula and Nero, for example, insisted on being called gods during their lifetimes). It did imply that they were favored by Heaven and that they could really mess up your life if they chose to. A claim of divine favor, with power to back it up, might well put you on the fast track to a throne. The only problem is that there are other people attempting the same feat. If enough people pretend to be gods on earth it can make trouble for a "real" god (assuming of course there is such a thing). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucius Posted April 17, 2015 Report Share Posted April 17, 2015 Has anyone defined "God" yet? Lucius Alexander And a reifier of palindromedaries Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mister E Posted April 18, 2015 Report Share Posted April 18, 2015 God is an abduction. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mister E Posted April 18, 2015 Report Share Posted April 18, 2015 "... that than which nothing greater can be conceived..." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mister E Posted April 18, 2015 Report Share Posted April 18, 2015 A tautology. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NuSoardGraphite Posted April 18, 2015 Report Share Posted April 18, 2015 Has anyone defined "God" yet? Lucius Alexander And a reifier of palindromedaries A spirit or being with divine power which garners worship from a group of adherents. You can have a very powerful spirit, but if no one is worshiping that spirit, it cannot be called a god. However if that spirit were able to convince others to begin worshipping it and is then able to absorb the power of that worship, the spirit has become a god. The power level is irrelevant. As long as the entity is able to siphon power from its followers worship to increase its own power, the term can apply. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mhd Posted April 18, 2015 Report Share Posted April 18, 2015 The power level is irrelevant. As long as the entity is able to siphon power from its followers worship to increase its own power, the term can apply. What need does God have for a spaceship, erm, worshippers? I know this is a common thing in RPGs, but I don't see an inherent need for the power of the divinity to derive from followers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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