Would you let a PC become a diety?

[FrostedMini1337]

Yo:

As a general rule, do you bar PC's from ascending in a campaign other than where you as the GM have the ascension in mind beforehand? If so, why?

You homebrew a world with few dieties. A PC notices you have no god of Luck or Chaos or Change, and rolls up a Swashbuckler with the intent on becoming the diety of Luck Chaos and Change. Do you let him? (To clarify, this is more of a question "Theres an open Portfolio, would you let a PC take it?")

In FR, a character has reached epic levels and literally 5 thousand people worship him. People flock from all across faerun to be near him, gain his advice and study under him. How about him? (To clarify, this more of a question of "Some of those low divine rank suckers don't even have 5 thousand worshipers. Would you let the PC steal portfolios like dieties do from one another")

Would you ever let a PC be responsible for the fall of a diety? Example: by killing his followers, and the spreading of a magical disease that implicated Kelemvor, a high level lich of an extraplanar diety on FR lowers Kelemvors divine rank (divine rank is tied to number of followers and ferverancy). Would you let the diety come to the realms and battle with kelemvor for control? Or would you be more apt to just elevate the PC instead for his hard work? Or would AO/Kelemvor smite him for the presumptiousness of it all?

Say Thankee.

 

[Tumbler]

The gods in my homebrew aren't all that tough (roughly 30th level with 2-10 divine ranks), so they are quite killable for the few epic characters the world has seen. Using the artifacts that allow gods to grant spells requires some study and some feats, but is possible.

A PC in the last campaign I ran had a chance to become a god, but chose to revive his god instead.

 

[Chimera]

As a general rule, do you bar PC's from ascending in a campaign other than where you as the GM have the ascension in mind beforehand? If so, why?

Never had it come up.

You homebrew a world with few dieties. A PC notices you have no god of Luck or Chaos or Change, and rolls up a Swashbuckler with the intent on becoming the diety of Luck Chaos and Change. Do you let him? (To clarify, this is more of a question "Theres an open Portfolio, would you let a PC take it?")

Now there's an interesting idea for a long-term campaign. It certainly would not be easy and it would take a very long time. My first question to the players would be "Are you all on-board with Bob's quest to become a god, and are you cool with a very long term campaign centered on his character's quest?"

In FR, a character has reached epic levels and literally 5 thousand people worship him. People flock from all across faerun to be near him, gain his advice and study under him. How about him? (To clarify, this more of a question of "Some of those low divine rank suckers don't even have 5 thousand worshipers. Would you let the PC steal portfolios like dieties do from one another")

Would you ever let a PC be responsible for the fall of a diety? Example: by killing his followers, and the spreading of a magical disease that implicated Kelemvor, a high level lich of an extraplanar diety on FR lowers Kelemvors divine rank (divine rank is tied to number of followers and ferverancy). Would you let the diety come to the realms and battle with kelemvor for control? Or would you be more apt to just elevate the PC instead for his hard work? Or would AO/Kelemvor smite him for the presumptiousness of it all?

I view Pantheons as the ultimate Clique. They all know each other, have for centuries and millenia. They interact, have rivalries and so forth. No mortal newcomer is going to be allowed to come in and 'shake the foundations' so to speak. "Better the devil you know than the devil you don't know" probably being the best way to explain it. Oh, they might let you play at it just to amuse themselves, but they're not going to help you.

In large pantheons, a PC had better plan on performing that great, life long quest just to get to "Minor servant of an existing god" status, then centuries or even millenia working his/her way up the food chain to eventually becoming a full-fledged god.

Something like "Person X suddenly assumes the post of Dead god Y" should only happen when that person has already established long-standing connections to a number of gods who can help that person seize the advantage when it finally comes. And I personally don't think that something like that should happen more than once or twice in the entire history of any given world, if that often. I'd rather see it be "Demi-god X, who has spent three thousand years in the service of god Y, advances to fill the open slot when his patron is slain/destroyed/whatever".

 

[the Jester]

Sure. There are several pcs on the path to ascension right now imc.

 

[Odhanan]

Yo:

As a general rule, do you bar PC's from ascending in a campaign other than where you as the GM have the ascension in mind beforehand? If so, why?

You homebrew a world with few dieties. A PC notices you have no god of Luck or Chaos or Change, and rolls up a Swashbuckler with the intent on becoming the diety of Luck Chaos and Change. Do you let him? (To clarify, this is more of a question "Theres an open Portfolio, would you let a PC take it?")

In FR, a character has reached epic levels and literally 5 thousand people worship him. People flock from all across faerun to be near him, gain his advice and study under him. How about him? (To clarify, this more of a question of "Some of those low divine rank suckers don't even have 5 thousand worshipers. Would you let the PC steal portfolios like dieties do from one another")

Would you ever let a PC be responsible for the fall of a diety? Example: by killing his followers, and the spreading of a magical disease that implicated Kelemvor, a high level lich of an extraplanar diety on FR lowers Kelemvors divine rank (divine rank is tied to number of followers and ferverancy). Would you let the diety come to the realms and battle with kelemvor for control? Or would you be more apt to just elevate the PC instead for his hard work? Or would AO/Kelemvor smite him for the presumptiousness of it all?

Say Thankee.

If that fits the campaign and the player strives for it in-game, thus gaining all the more pleasure for accomplishing such an exploit? Sure. Why not?

 

[Evilhalfling]

Sure what else are they supposed to do at high levels?
I had one campaign world where there was a steady history Ascensions, despite the fact that it tended to destroy civilizations. There were still PCs that wanted it.

If there is no indication that it would be possible, it would irritate people/beings for a low level character to express this desire, and they may take issue with the hubris. If there is no history or legend of this happening, then it should not be a default possibility.

The current world has demi-powers who were once human, and 2 PCs are working towards this status. They were also urged to kill an Archromental but missed/passed the chance to try.
IMC levels top at 20. To going beyond means you have exceeded the powers of mortals.
as 18th lvl PCs - it looks like a possiblilty for them. Although the campaign will end instead of playing out the consequences.

 

[Menexenus]

Although it has never come up in any of my games (because none of my games has reached 20th level or beyond), I am not opposed to elevating a character to godhood. However, I would not guarantee that result to a player rolling up a new character. If the player's entire purpose for rolling up a new character was to achieve godhood, I would make sure that player understood in no uncertain terms that reaching his goal was not at all guaranteed, even though it is a possibility.

 

[Thunderfoot]

Agreed - the intention to be one is probably not a good idea for character concept. If fate steps in and that becomes possible, I am always in the need for expressive NPCs - oh wait, that is one of the problems isn't it - will the player want to give up the character in order for ascension? Dieties are not PCs in my campaigns - EVER! Too many problems with that, however, I have had one PC in 25+ years make it to godhood. I still have the player's character sheet.

 

[NiTessine]

Mmh. Provided it all worked out on the story end and it fit the campaign, sure. Heck, in my Planescape campaign there's a Believer of the Source who's actively working towards that end.

However, that'd be the end of that character's career as a PC, and probably the campaign. In the next campaign, I'd encourage them to play clerics, favoured souls, paladins, crusaders or whatnot of the new deity.

 

[Mercule]

Would and have allowed PC ascention. It's only happened once, so far, but I'd consider it again under the right circumstances.