[Patreon] Do all gods have 'special powers'?

[Anders]

Patron (p. B72) says that 30 points buys you a god. "Special powers" (p. B73) says you need this +100% enhancement if you want a god. Do I need both? Does it matter if I'm playing in a realistic world or do I need "Special Powers" for a fantasy world?

I notice that Divine Favor uses Special Powers and a 30-point Patron.

Edit: And since this is the Internet era, I used the word 'patreon' rather than 'patron'.

[Fred Brackin]

First you need to define "god".

A divne Patron who was a corporeal being who was inflential and probably wealthy wouldn't need Special Powers to support those who have taken him as a Patron. Unusual access wouldn't be necessry either. You'd seek your Patron's aid by visiting his residence at the Grand Ziggurat.

You could also have "god" with or without scare quotes who never lent any of his worshippers "support" but he probabl;y wouldn't be a valid Patron.

[Anders]

Ok. What kind of god needs "Special Powers"?

[Anthony]

A 30 point patron without special powers has effectively unmeasurable wealth and influence, but lacks supernatural abilities; in this case "god" really means "worshipped by billions" or something similar.

[Stormcrow]

"WELCOME TO MY CELESTIAL ABODE! FROM HERE, YOU MAY CHOOSE ANY WEAPON OR EQUIPMENT IN THE RULE BOOKS!"

"Can we call on you to cast spells when we need you?"

"WHADDOO I LOOK LIKE, A MAGIC DISPENSER?"

[pawsplay]

If a god is simply an ascended mortal, who is now immortal, and is a 1000 point wizard, knight, or whatever, that's not special powers, that's just the powers of someone of their capability.

On the other hand, if a god is a mysterious presence, and their blessings and portents are something that grant you resources, in lieu of a direct gift or instruction, that's not really special, either. That's just a different way of getting your Patron benefits.

If your Patron is the only active god in a world where the gods have fallen, that's a special power.

[Inky]

I'm not sure about any of the following.

The Patron rules are really confusing, but there's a paragraph that says 'Note that the base cost to have a deity as a Patron is comparable to that for a powerful mundane Patron, but divine power requires the Special Abilities enhancement (see below), which will greatly increase the final cost of a divine Patron!', so it sounds like that 30 points is before adding Special Abilities.

There are five cases listed for Special Abilities. There's 'has extensive social or political power (e.g., the Governor of New York or the Pope)', which might actually apply if the god was widely worshipped in the area you were adventuring in and you could prove they were involved.
Another is 'has magical powers in a nonmagical world', which implies that having supernatural powers does not require paying for Special Abilities if the setting is one where any hired sorcerer could say the same.
'Possesses equipment from a TL greater than yours' might apply if it was the 'Stargate SG-1' kind of 'god'! But arguably most people wouldn't call that a god.
'Grants you special powers' may or may not apply.
So probably what's usually the reason why Special Abilities would apply to a god is 'has unusual reach in time or space (e.g., a super, spirit, or god)'. You're paying for the fact that your Patron can hear you and do something about it wherever you are. Usually not caring about distance seems to go with any being the English word 'god' would normally be associated with, but you can think of possible exceptions - a D&D 'god' that had been banished to a pocket universe by another 'god' might genuinely not be able to hear you unless you went to a particular altar and cast a spell.

[TGLS]

I thought this was going to go in a decidedly different direction: "Now if you want healing, you need to pray at the 'worshiper' level, while if you wish to receive divine revelations that help you, you need to pray at the 'devout' level."

[Anthony]

To be honest, the patron rules are (likely deliberately) extremely vague. I feel a significant temptation to rewrite several advantages (including patrons) as just being limitations on the core social advantages of Allies and Wealth.

That is to say, the core difference between "My character has 100x starting wealth" and "My character has a patron with 100x starting wealth" is that in the first case, you have total control over how the money is spent, while in the second case, the patron controls how the money is spent. If the patron just rubber-stamps every request the character makes, it might as well just be character wealth; if the patron rejects 99%, that's an accessibility limitation (per Powers, -40%?)

[David Johnston2]

Originally Posted by Anthony

A 30 point patron without special powers has effectively unmeasurable wealth and influence, but lacks supernatural abilities; in this case "god" really means "worshipped by billions" or something similar.

Lacks supernatural abilities that are different in kind (rather than degree) from those possessed by any mortal. If mortals can use magic gods can be mega powerful magicians without the 100% modifier.