Character Idea Help

[Al2O3]

There is a rain god in one of the "hitchhiker's Guide to the galaxy" novels. It rains a lot around him and he could thus be a storm sorcerer.

 

[Eltab]

I would set that up as either
- Shadow Monk / Warlock with the infamous Devil Sight combo (god of night)
- Paladin of the Ancients / Druid of the Land (god of nature)

I would also give up on "and can do pretty much anything he wants" with anything - you start at 1st level and the universe is fully capable of pushing you around.

 

[Ancalagon]

Ok. Is go for this:

Gods are gods because they are believed in. Your character is a god that no one believes in so has been cast out of whatever domain/heaven/plane/pantheon.

Forced to join the mortal realm he can act as his own cleric or paladin. The goal is to establish enough believers to form enough worship to read it him to the pantheon as a demigod to begin with (when he still walks the earth but is say level 18+) and then ascend to godhood full time.

I don't see night and nature cohabiting very well so I'd suggest you pick one.

But the PC would be as other PCs although I'd allow you a Feat to start off with.

Yes, this seems to me to be the best way of doing it. His base of worshipers has been obliterated/cut off/usurped/something, and his power so weakened that the best he can do is "grant himself" clerical magic. The more deeds he does and the most worshipers he attracts the more power he has (goes up in level).

As a GM, "I want to be a god" is a huge, huge red flag. But what the Grassy Gnoll has described can something that can be worked with.

 

[ccs]

So I want to create a character that is a god, pretending not to be a god. How can I make this character so that they retain some of their godly powers (They are the god of the night and can do pretty much do anything with nature)

1) So make a nature cleric/druid - that follows all the normal rules - who only uses his powers at night.

2) Play the long game. Use this same character/personality (no matter what class/mechanics) over the course of many campaigns, levels, editions, systems & years.
I have a character like this. Kelton Amberlord. He's based on the Chronicles of Amber. He'll "step into" whatever game we're playing & assume a role, following the same "rules" as everyone else. His favorite genres to go "play" in are D&D/swashbuckling types & he'll often appear as a bard/rogue/scoundrel type. Think of Q from ST:TNG. Or playing MMOs (though my character pre-dates MMOs by a good 10 years....) I've played him in every edition of D&D, a few Star Wars/space operas, a pirate game, andyes, Chronicles of Amber games.
And if I, as a player, slip up & say/indicate some kind of ooc knowledge? Well, Kelton IS a nearly omnipotent outsider....
If I'm using Kelton I'll give the DM a background. The 1st paragraph or two is background as pertains to the game we're playing - just like any character should have.
Then there's a red line.
Below that line is a section that details Keltons "true" origin as an Amberite. This really has no effect on the DMs game - unless they want it to. It's just there to amuse, informs more on WHY I'll do some things in character, & explains how/why the same character (character =/= stat block) keeps being used*.
(*The only game reason in which I will ever stop using this character is if he should get killed in a Chronicles of Amber game.)

 

[Unwise]

I played a game as King Monkey, Great Sage, Equal of Heaven. It was set after his fall from heaven and being trapped under a mountain for a hundred year, as his power slowly leaches away. Even memories of who he was died off in the mortal realms a generation or two ago. He is now just seen as an ancient fictional character. He was a level 3 monk, set on reclaiming his powers and forcing his way back into heaven.

Another character was the Jade Gate of Heaven, which Monkey had smashed during the brawl as he got kicked out of heaven. The gate smashed into shards, the character was a Shardmind who had to collect the other pieces of himself so that he could once again become the Jade Gate of Heaven and allow fallen heroes and others to access the heavens. Monkey had to help him, because if ever her was to go back to heaven and kick that uppity emperor in the face, he needed the Jade Gate fixed.

The final character was the Great Marshall of the Heavenly Host. Who got in trouble for fighting Monkey and accidentally had a hand in breaking the Jade Gate. He was cast out of heaven during the brawl, but cannot get back without the Jade Gate fixed either. He was de-incarnated and became a baby but kept some of his memories. He was still young when the game started and a level 3 Warlord.

--

So a de-powered god can work, but only in game where it is clear that you are not trying to get a special snowflake, or everybody is. Personally I would cringe if a player suggested this, particularly if he was just pretending to be a mere mortal. This is not a reflection on the OP, who I do not know at all, but if I did not know the player well, I would suspect they were on a power trip style of escapism, which is not my preferred type. I have had a few issues with players who I got the feeling wanted to be powerful not enjoying the game whenever they failed at things and became pretty disruptive.

 

[FrogReaver]

self limitation is a terrible thing. That means at anytime you can decide to go back to your pre limited self.

Now a a promise to the do that your character will not do that could go far. Keep in mind self limits would also apply to knowledge and everything else.

 

[BoldItalic]

Okay, here's the deal.

Believing you are a god is a form of mental illness commonly called "delusions of grandeur". Until your character is cured, you suffer disadvantage on all Wisdom-related saves and skill checks. A Greater Restoration spell from your friendly neighbourhood temple may be effective. The usual donation to the temple is about 500gp but you need to bring your own diamond dust. Ask your DM to send you on a special quest to get some.

 

[Herobizkit]

At the risk of edition-warring, this concept might actually work a lot better in 4e. I tend to see 4e as D&D 'superheroes' where the end-game is almost always working towards some kind of divinity/immortality. Backgrounds and Themes can cover former god-hood or even pretend god-hood.

 

[Al2O3]

For 4e it works really well. I think I once made a plan for a dragonborn sorcerer who would be Io reborn.