Deity

Deities are immortal or near immortal beings with great power who receive the worship of mortals and to whom certain classes can pray in order to receive spells. They often present themselves as humanoids and possess power beyond that attainable by mortals.

Basic Information

Biological Traits

Power & Immortality

Elder Deities cannot be destroyed but are not as strong as they once were. Their faculty grows and wanes with the number of worshipers they have, but will never drop below the capabilities of a greater deity. It is suspected that they also obtain power from the followers of deities that reign over the respective prime domains the elder deities created.

Prime Deities posses the most power, cannot be destroyed, and their faculty does not fluctuate with their worshipers.

Gods have capabilities equivalent to that of a greater deity with one notable exception. Their faculty never fluctuates with their devotees. This means they will not lose power, but are also unable to grow it. Gods cannot be killed or destroyed.

Greater Deities' faculties are equivalent to that of gods and greater than that of intermediate deities. The more worshipers they possess, the greater their capabilities. They cannot be killed or destroyed, but with the loss of enough followers their power may weaken to the level of an intermediate deity. If they gain enough devotees for an adequate amount time, they may rise to the rank of a prime deity. Upon reaching this rank, they receive all the same benefits but they can never replace a current Prime Domain. Instead, they bring their own Domain up to the power and coverage of a Prime Domain.

Intermediate Deities are less powerful than gods and greater deities, but more powerful than lesser deities and quasi-deities. Their faculties fluctuate greatly with their worshipers but they can still not be destroyed.

Lesser Deities are less powerful than all other deities except quasi-deities. Like intermediate deities, their power fluctuates greatly with the number of followers they possess and they cannot be killed or destroyed. However, unlike the intermediate deity, their power can drop to a point where they fall into an unconscious and near-death state. This will last indefinitely until they are worshiped once more.

Quasi-Deities were mortals who have ascended to deity or godhood and are the least powerful of all the deities. Though they are classified as immortal, they can technically be killed past possible revival from worshipers. Quasi-Deities are not capable of rising above their current faculties.

Additional Information

Social Structure

Deities are ranked by their power level relative to true omnipotency which is directly connected to their reliance on mortals and their degree of immortality. There are a few deities who live outside of the social structure, but generally it is very rigid with naturally enforced tiers. Elder and Prime Deities are at the top of the social structure, with Gods, Greater , Intermediate, Lesser , and Quasi Deities existing within their domains. Although it is extremely rare, deities have climbed the ranks in the past. However, the last time this occurred is no longer common knowledge.

Geographic Origin and Distribution

All deities are omnipresent, but all are thought to have a general location or plane of existence where much of their power is concentrated. For the vast majority of prime, greater, and intermediate deities, these locations are thought to exist within the outer planes. It is theorized that lesser deities reside in either the outer planes, inner planes, or the material plane while gods primarily reside in only the inner planes and quasi-deities within the material plane.

Average Intelligence

Omniscient within the sphere of influence of their domain.

Civilization and Culture

Naming Traditions

There are no naming traditions among deities. In fact, most have many names as they take on all the names of those who worship them.

Major Organizations

The Ignes Fatui is the collective name used to refer to the Pantheon that contains all known deities. However, there are numerous Pantheons within the Ignes Fatui that represent relationships between deities, their domains, and their followers.

Gender Ideals

Neither gender nor sex exist among deities. Their concept and understanding of these terms is deeper than the mortal mind can comprehend. If one tries to define their gender ideals based on mortal understanding, deities tend to view it as a preference for various appearance characteristics.

Courtship Ideals

Courtship is used as a means of convincing another deity to form an alliance with another deity. It is not an uncommon occurrence between deities but is often unrecognized because the process takes many mortal lifetimes to complete.

Relationship Ideals

Relationships between deities are thought to be complex alliances that have developed over time rather than an emotional or physical one as deities are generally thought to be above these concepts.

History

A forgotten entity created the Elder Deities. The status of this entity is currently unknown.

Interspecies Relations and Assumptions

Mortals

Elder Deities: While their power fluctuates with the number of worshipers they have, they rarely interact or concern themselves with mortals.

Prime Deities: As their power never fluctuates with their amount of followers, they never interact or concern themselves with mortals.

Gods: Similarly to prime deities, their power never fluctuates with the number of mortals who worship them. But while they scarcely interact with mortals, if they develop enough interest in one particular mortal, they may interact with them.

Greater Deities: There have been a few records of greater deities interacting with mortals through a proxy or through abstract signs, but these have mostly been dismissed as baseless claims.

Intermediate Deities: As their strength fluctuates greatly with their worshipers (though they cannot completely lose their power), they do give thought to their worshipers and may occasionally interact with their most influential devotees.

Lesser Deities: Because even their conscious state depends on their number of followers, they interact with their followers fairly regularly and focus on the most influential members. They may show themselves to mortals and some even reside on the mortal planes. Whilst they are often less known than the higher ranking deities, they are understood to regularly respond to prayers more than their more powerful counterparts as well as exhibit more care for their followers.

Quasi-Deities: As they used to be mortals themselves, these deities are known to regularly interact with mortals regardless of whether or not they worship them. For the same reason, they are known to typically show either great care or hatred for mortals and will commonly act upon these feelings.

Origin/Ancestry
A long forgotten entity
Lifespan
Varies | Dependent on deific origin and power
Related Organizations

Articles under Deity