How do you become a god?

[darjr]

Thinking about One Bad Egg and WotC covering everything, isn't this an area ripe for covering that WotC has explicitly stated they won't cover?

Maybe if done with a light touch as far as what has to change directly on the character sheet even the DDI/CB obstacle could be lessened.

 

[Wombat]

You don't.

This.

Becoming a god has never been an option in my games.

 

[Herobizkit]

Those guys at WotC invented the Deities & Demigods Handbook for a reason.

IMC, there are no Gods. I run a game that combines elements of Pantheism (where "everything" is Divine), Animism ("everything" has a spirit), and Mysticism (like Taoism). PC's simply tap into the ambient energy of Gaia/spirits to access their divine gifts.

By the same token, any PC who plays long enough to get to 21st level can choose to "ascend" and become an Immortal. No one has done so in nearly 2 decades of playing.

 

[mhacdebhandia]

It's a simple question. How does one become a god in your campaign?

In my campaign settings, no-one can become a god. I've never thought it was an interesting part of the D&D experience.

In published settings, where it's theoretically possible? I don't expect to ever have to account for it given the people with whom I play, but in Eberron for instance it's theoretically possible for a mortal to aspire to replace one of the Sovereigns . . . at least, if you assume that the dragons who follow the Thir religion are correct . . . so if a friend of mine came to me and said "My character wants to replace Aureon", I'd figure something out.

 

[DrunkonDuty]

IMC there's not really any gods. There are supernatural forces that represent certain fundamental ideas and physical forces. Some folk interpret these as gods and they can take on personality traits based on the beliefs of worshippers. But they aren't actually beings in any human sense.

Mortal souls go on to become part of the greater universal soul. I guess that would make my campaign sort of pantheistic. So apotheosis isn't really an option. Not in the sense of the PC becomes a god. They become one with the universe and lose their individuality in the process.

I don't go for resurrection either but would allow it in exceptional circumstances. I guess if a character did come back they could probably make some serious claim on peoples' beliefs and set themselves up as some sort of messiah figure. But I've never run a campaign where this has happened...

But it strikes me as an interesting idea so maybe some time in the future.

 

[Jack99]

In published settings, where it's theoretically possible? I don't expect to ever have to account for it given the people with whom I play, but in Eberron for instance it's theoretically possible for a mortal to aspire to replace one of the Sovereigns . . . at least, if you assume that the dragons who follow the Thir religion are correct . . . so if a friend of mine came to me and said "My character wants to replace Aureon", I'd figure something out.

Well in FR, based on the ToT, killing a god seems to do the trick. In planescape, I guess making enough people believe should do the trick and Dark Sun has no gods. I have no idea about the rest of the published settings.