Determining Divine Rank?

[Valicor]

I was flipping through Deities & DemiGods the other night, and fumbblled back onto a question I had awhile ago, but never found an answer for.

How many followers do you require per Divine Rank, did I miss this anywhere in the book?

 

[the Jester]

I think that sort of depends on how gods work in your cosmology. Some people prefer that deities gain power from worship, others prefer that their power is independent of worship, and others fall somewhere in between.

In other words, I think you'll have to make it up.

 

[Valicor]

I had a feeling that would be the answer. Mt cosmology bases it off number of followers.

this means I am going to have to come up with a world population now, yay.

 

[Emiricol]

Ya, it is all up to you, no "rules". Some guidelines can be found on page 25 of MotP, though

 

[fusangite]

I have to say that I think it's great that D&D hasn't codified this. Too much codification is the #1 problem with the D&D system. It's refreshing to find the rules utterly silent on something.

 

[I'm A Banana]

There is no *exact* numbering...

From the DDG, under Ranks of Divine Power:

*Quasideities "may have some worshipers"

*Demideities "have a few hundred to a few thousand worshipers, and may receive veneration or respect from many more."

*Lesser deities "have anywhere from a few thousand to tens of thousand worshipers."

*Intermidiate Deities "have hundreds of thousands of mortal worshipers"

*Greater deities "may have millions of mortal worshipers."

*Overdeities "if they are known at all, it is to a handful of scholars...(they) care nothing for worshipers"

That's the schtick!

 

[JacktheRabbit]

Of course those numbers dont have to mean a thing. A God depending on the model you are using could draw Gods from dozens of worlds and thus have a very minor number of worshippers on a world and still be a Greater Deity.

 

[Emiricol]

I hadn't even considered that, Doc! Nice.

Also, that model doesn't easily accommodate the "sleeping ancient evil" menace so common in literature and game worlds, unless they exist outside the normal divinity structure for a plane.

So, the short version is that I view those numbers to mean that, if the god is known, a deity of X power level is likely to draw that number of worshipers, roughly. The numbers are the effect, not the cause, in other words.

But that's just my interpretation.

 

[MerricB]

I dislike the power of gods being dependent on their worshippers. (Possibly the power they can bring to bear in a particular realm...)

So, god decides to create the universe. Unfortunately, he doesn't have any worshippers, and so couldn't...

Cheers!

 

[Darkness]

So, god decides to create the universe. Unfortunately, he doesn't have any worshippers, and so couldn't...

The deity who created a universe probably is an overdeity anyway - and therefore, doesn't need worshippers.