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<blockquote data-quote="Aaron2" data-source="post: 1931744" data-attributes="member: 1436">I kinda take a third view. My gods are very real personal being but they derive their power and influence from their worshipers* The gods are essentially mirrors of the desires of their congregation. For example, the egyptian pharoah Ramses IV (iirc) was killed by a snake. After his death he became the &quot;patron saint&quot; of snakes and people prayed to him for protection from snake bites. Thus, he gained power over snakes.Similarly, if enough clerics of NatureGodA believe that cities are bad, then their god will accept that aspect into his being. I view the congregations almost as political parties, the various subfactions are fighting (with words, not weapons usually) for control of the heirarchy. The faction that gains control now gains influence over the god's domain. Thus, IMC, several gods went from good to evil because an evil faction gained control and purged the good clerics (some, of course, survive to fight on).The problem with remote gods is that doctrinal disputes are essentially meaningless since neither side can win and no one can prove which side is right.Aaron*IMC A person's &quot;soul&quot; relies on spiritual energy created by living beings. A living person creates more than enough spritual energy for his own soul. Whenever he prays to, thinks about or remembers a dead person, that person's soul gets a little of his spiritual energy to keep on existing. If enough people think about you or worship you then your soul will gain power and you will eventually become a god. Likewise, if after you die no one remembers you then your soul will fade away. Thus bards have significant power over the afterlife.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Aaron2, post: 1931744, member: 1436"] I kinda take a third view. My gods are very real personal being but they derive their power and influence from their worshipers* The gods are essentially mirrors of the desires of their congregation. For example, the egyptian pharoah Ramses IV (iirc) was killed by a snake. After his death he became the "patron saint" of snakes and people prayed to him for protection from snake bites. Thus, he gained power over snakes. Similarly, if enough clerics of NatureGodA believe that cities are bad, then their god will accept that aspect into his being. I view the congregations almost as political parties, the various subfactions are fighting (with words, not weapons usually) for control of the heirarchy. The faction that gains control now gains influence over the god's domain. Thus, IMC, several gods went from good to evil because an evil faction gained control and purged the good clerics (some, of course, survive to fight on). The problem with remote gods is that doctrinal disputes are essentially meaningless since neither side can win and no one can prove which side is right. Aaron *IMC A person's "soul" relies on spiritual energy created by living beings. A living person creates more than enough spritual energy for his own soul. Whenever he prays to, thinks about or remembers a dead person, that person's soul gets a little of his spiritual energy to keep on existing. If enough people think about you or worship you then your soul will gain power and you will eventually become a god. Likewise, if after you die no one remembers you then your soul will fade away. Thus bards have significant power over the afterlife. [/QUOTE]

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