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Message: <blockquote data-quote="RangerWickett" data-source="post: 2981558" data-attributes="member: 63">I'd like to examine this question from two perspectives -- the real world one, and the fantasy world one. As this involves religion, the subject might be touchy, which is why my examples will be drawn from mostly defunct religions.You are one of the first sentient beings, and the world besets you with dangers every day. You look for some greater meaning, for a reason that you can actually grasp your own existence. You don't feel that powerful, though you can imagine a future where you would be. You can also imagine that there might be something more powerful than you, something like a god.In the real world, how did Sumerians come up with Nergal, Ereshkigal, and the rest of the Annuna? When did the Egyptians realize Osiris was floating around in the stars? How did the first Greek priests decide to start worshipping Zeus and company?In fantasy settings, such as Dragonlance, we sometimes get a story of how people re-encounter lost gods, but aside from a vague recollection of the prehistory of the elvish deities in Forgotten Realms's "Evermeet," I can't think of any stories about initial first contact between mortal and divinity.I bring this all up because my next game is going to take place at the cusp of prehistory. Mortals exist, and some indeed worship gods, but more in the real-world sense of holding beliefs, than in the D&D sense of casting spells. But the world will come to need true gods, and the PCs will run across a few potential candidates. Some will be powerful mortals, others will be demons who want to rule, and some might be even stranger entities.The question is, what makes a god? Is it your own power, or is it the belief of others? If the former, how do you reveal your power to potential followers. If the latter, what sort of legendary person would be revered enough in life that his followers would proclaim him a god?</blockquote>

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