Designing Gods

[AlexanderHowl]

There have been a couple of recent discussions about deities, so I was curious how people design their deities? If the deities in your games do not appear in person, or if the characters are below 1,000 CP, then you probably do not need to design them, but I think that there are times when deities require formulation.

In my own concept of deities, minor deities are going to be 2,000 CP characters while major deities are going to be 4,000 CP characters. Minor deities require a minimum of -50 CP worth of mental disadvantages to represent divergence from human norms while major deities require a minimum of -100 CP worth of mental disadvantages to represent divergence from human norms. In any case, every deity, minor or major, requires one or more mental disadvantages with a self-control number of 6- to represent their passion(s). In addition they would require an Immortal template, like the following:

Immortal [499]

Advantages: Cosmic Talent 4 [60]; High Pain Threshold (Cosmic, +50%) [15]; Immunity to Metabolic Hazards (Cosmic, +50%) [45]; Indomitable (Cosmic, +50%) [23]; Regeneration (Regular; Cosmic, +50%; Heals Radiation, +40%) [48]; Regrowth (Cosmic, +50%) [60]; Unaging (Cosmic, +50%) [23]; Unkillable 3 (Cosmic, +50%) [225].

I think that the above Immortal template serves as the foundation of what most people would consider the immortality of a deity. The idea of spiritual deities is actually not a universal concept (for example, the Norse deities were quite physical), but templates for spirits can be added to the Immortal template to create spiritual deities. Deities can still suffer permanent disability or permanent death, but it requires special weapons that circumvent Cosmic protections, purposeful sacrifice, and/or the malice of more powerful deities.

So, what would you add to the design of deities? Do you have any deities that you would want to share? Do you think that 2,000 CP is too powerful for deities or that 4,000 CP is too weak for deities?

[Phantasm]

It depends on what take you're taking with deities.

If the deity is a corporeal entity, then you're in the realm of Marvel/DC Greek and Norse gods, in which case you're looking at very powerful extradimensional people but still people, even if they are worshipped.

However, I tend to think of deities in one of two manners:

1. They are terrestrial spirits who gain power when worshipped; these range from house gods who are worshipped by a single household to gods worshipped by entire regions.

2. They are extradimensional spirits whose power does not vary depending on whether they are worshipped or not.

Both of these can grant power to their devotees based on their own power. If encountered, you're interacting with the avatar of the deity rather than the deity proper; the avatar can be killed, but the deity generally cannot. Lesser house gods can be banished, but even then they may make their presence known to another household, probably a new one just forming.

[smurf]

I still think High Pain Threshold should be replaced with Super Natural Durability.

[SteamBub]

GURPS Religion has deity creation. For me though, deities I create are incorporeal. Best have an a god you can't deal with and only really interact with through proxy.

[David Johnston2]

Originally Posted by smurf

I still think High Pain Threshold should be replaced with Super Natural Durability.

I can't think of a lot of depictions of gods that give them a kryptonite that must be used to kill them. Unkillable 3 does the trick for me.

[tanksoldier]

Originally Posted by David Johnston2

I can't think of a lot of depictions of gods that give them a kryptonite that must be used to kill them. Unkillable 3 does the trick for me.

Achilles, his heel.

Baldur, mistletoe.

The Norse gods generally, failure to eat the golden apples that sustain their immortality.

The Greek gods, failure to eat ambrosia.

[AlexanderHowl]

Achilles was not a god, he was not even a demigod, he was just the most powerful of men.

[Flyndaran]

Who defines what a god is? It's certainly possible for even giant animals with minimal supernatural powers to be worshiped. Who are we to tell them their god isn't a "real" god?

World Of Warcraft touches on this issue by having numerous entities of varying power levels worshiped as gods. And being a game, more than a few get killed, but never by just smacking them with mundane weapons.

[David Johnston2]

Originally Posted by tanksoldier

Achilles, his heel.

Baldur, mistletoe.

The Norse gods generally, failure to eat the golden apples that sustain their immortality.

The Greek gods, failure to eat ambrosia.

Yeah. No. The kryptonite of a Durable character has to be something that inflicts wounds, allowing the Last Girl to kill the Slasher normally. The Apples of Idunn are just a limitation on the Norse god's unaging. While deprivation of ambrosia might weaken a god, I'm pretty sure there are no myths in which a Greek god dies of deprivation. In fact Prometheus lives for centuries having his liver ripped out by Big Bird and not getting any ambrosia and shows a distinct lack of an inclination to die.

[bert]

I generally do not stat up the gods themselves, but rather avatars of them. Think of Nyarlathtotep! I generally do not try to design the immortality part in GURPS terms, instead I try to describe how the avatar can be dispelled. The avatar might be killable, which would usually mean that you can contact or call the deity again... depending on God and setting, it might meddle in the affairs of mortals on its own, or it might be uninterested in mere mortals.

Edit: basically what Phantasm wrote above, then!