It wouldn't have to be a rise. Demigod and god in 5e simply means different things than the meant pre-5e. Simple as that. It's not Iuz's power that waxed or waned, the term 5e uses to describe this level of power is just not the same as it was before
D&D General The Role and Purpose of Evil Gods
Maxperson
Morkus from Orkus
I don't think it has changed, though. We know that Appendix B has quasi-deities on it. RAW says so. They aren't defined, though, and not one of the listed gods in Appendix B fits any of the 3 quasi-deity categories. That means that the list is non-exhaustive, even though it's written as exhaustive, the definitions are incomplete, even though they are written as complete, or both.
Knowing that the listed quasi-deity categories as written are not complete, it's perfectly reasonable to think that demigod still includes weak gods like Iuz.
Iuz hears prayers and grants spells, which quasi-deities no longer can do in 5e. And demigods are even described as the weakest quasi deities.
3e quasi deities were defined (as one possible origin) as being born from the union of a deity and a mortal. Now 5e lists being born from the union of a deity and a mortal as the origin of demigods.
Quasi deities could not hear prayers or grant spells. Demigods could do both. Now in 5e demigods can not hear prayers or grant spells.
Cleary 5e shifted the terms and simply uses the term demigod for the class of beings that were previously called quasi gods (probably to finally agree with the colloquial understanding of this term). And quasi deity has become the name for new category including (the new) demigod and others
Faolyn
(she/her)
At this point, it's probably more reasonable to assume that Iuz is a lesser god, since in 5e that term means that a full god with a physical form that can (possibly) be killed, as opposed to greater god, which can't be killed, or a demigod, which is specifically half-god-half-human (which he's not, since his dad was a demon prince, not a god). In fact, I think it's fair to assume that the majority of gods in D&D right now are lesser gods.
Note that 5e DMG specifically calls out Lurue as a lesser god--and she was a demigod in 2e and 3e and an exarch in 4e (although that being said, she doesn't have a write-up in 5e yet so it's unclear what domains she grants, if any; I'd guess Life and Nature myself).
Maxperson
Morkus from Orkus
5e doesn't say that I don't think, unless it's in a module.
Again, that definition is incomplete. We know from the acolyte background which explicitly says that there are quasi-deities in Appendix B, despite not one of those on any list being in one of the three categories listed in the DMG.
Yes I know.
Not so clearly, since the definitions in the DMG are incomplete, which means that it's reasonable to conclude that there are the old type of demigods as well.
Maxperson
Morkus from Orkus
The bolded part is the problem. We know for a fact that the definitions in the DMG are incomplete, despite sounding complete. That means that we don't know for sure that demigods are only half-god and half-human.
Iuz is not called out that way, though. And one instance of a demigod becoming a lesser god doesn't mean that they all did.
Chaosmancer
Legend
Tangent note? That is a bizarre and oddly corporate sounding detail. It sounds like a parody.
Chaosmancer
Legend
Exactly. And we can easily assume that the "quasi-deities" remark that Maxperson is referencing from the Acolyte background is one of multiple other things.
1) There did used to be quasi-deities, perhaps vestiges in Appendix B and were cut, without the text changing.
2) It is meant to reference the Non-God options from Eberron
3) They didn't list any Quasi-Deities, instead just adding it the list to cover people who wanted to be acoyltes of beings not in Appendix B, and they just wrote it very poorly and without giving much thought to the fact that Appendix B didn't contain those beings.
There are a lot of other explanations than "secretly some of these gods are actually Quasi-Deities, but we have no way of knowing whom"
Maxperson
Morkus from Orkus
Requires assuming the designers are too stupid to realize they cut out all of quasi-deities.
Requires assuming that the designers are too stupid to realize that those Eberron options don't fit into any of the three categories of quasi-deities.
Requires the designers to just be stupid in general.
I prefer not to assume that the designers are stupid. The most likely option is that they just assume the DM will pick some to be quasi-deities.
Can Kelanen The Prince of Swords grant spells?
As I think @Voadam already noted upthread, the GH Boxed Set Glossography includes him in the chapter dealing with "Personages and Quasi-Deities".
Page 33 says "Throughout the world of Greyhawk are quite a number of characters that have risen above the status of heroes, but who are not quite demi-gods. These personages are 'quasi-deities'." There is then a list of them, which includes Kelanen. Then on page 36 we have Kelanen's entry, which says he "is one of the very poewrful individuals who might, or might not, be a true deity. Thus he is known as a 'Hero Deity,' and some who live by the sword pay him homage." And his DDG-style entry says "Worshippers's Alignment: Any" which contrasts with the N/A of the other three detailed quasi-deities (Heward, Murlynd and Kheoghtom).
Kelanen does not appear in the deity list in the LLG, but worship of Kelanen is mentioned in the Sea Princes entry (pp 100-102) as one of the religions of that area.
The list of quasi-deities on p 33 also includes Daern, who is described as a Hero Deity in the LGG (P 169): "It is rumored that Delleb sponsored Daern, hero-goddess of defenses and fortifications, to her present position." Does Daern have clerics? I don't know.
On the whole I think it's all a bit ambiguous. I assume this is deliberate. I don't see that having a cleric of Daern or Kelanen show up would do any harm to anyone's game!
