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<blockquote data-quote="Yaarel" data-source="post: 9025370" data-attributes="member: 58172">In my 5e games, the &quot;gods&quot; only exist as archetypes. There is no mechanical statblock for a god.And, if there is a statblock, it is more like conjuring an &quot;avatar&quot;. To kill the avatar might impede the activity of the god, but it wouldnt eliminate the archetype itself. To conjure an avatar of a god is similar to, or perhaps exactly the same thing, as to create an Angel.It can be, a creature who does have a statblock can take on the persona of an archetype. Compare the Fiend Lolth emulating the archetypal concept of Treachery. Even if players killed Lolth, the archetype of Treachery would persist without her.These archetypes are somewhat like the 3e game design of Divine &quot;portfolios&quot;. But the main point is, there are no stats, nor mechanics, for a &quot;god&quot;.When I use the term &quot;Divine&quot;, I always mean Divine magic, in contrast to Arcane, Primal, or Psionic.If I understand correctly, what you mean by &quot;gods&quot; is, any entity that gains power from the followers that &quot;worship&quot; it. For you, some entities can amass power in this way and others cant.I think I can work with this.I would insist that any &quot;god&quot;, by definition, requires the institution of a priesthood whose job is to maintain a temple of some kind, and this is a requirement for the definition of &quot;worshiping&quot; a &quot;god&quot;.The &quot;god&quot; might be an abstract archetypal concept relating to ability to exist or survive, like light or war. Or the &quot;god&quot; might be a creature with hit points but that identifies itself with such a concept. (Such as, Lolth is an Elf-become-Fiend who identifies with the conceptual portfolio of Treachery.) Either way, the building of temples and the dedication of priests grants power to this &quot;god&quot;. This power is precisely a form of Divine magic. If the god is an abstract cosmic force, like light or war, the Divine magic can conjure an avatar of it that has a statblock, or manifest other kinds of magical effects that cohere with the concept. If the god is already a creature with a statblock, the Divine magic can increase its levels and features, such as making Lolth a more powerful Fiend.Note, it is possible to have Divine magic without any temple-priest-god. For example, the Paladin class achieves Divine magic nontheistically by means of an &quot;Oath&quot;. But this oath is a personal dedication to some archetypal concept. It is the archetype-concept-ideal-meaningfulness that makes Divine magic &quot;divine&quot;. To institute an order of Paladins whose members are all dedicated to the same Oath is also a way to amass Divine magical power collectively.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Yaarel, post: 9025370, member: 58172"] In my 5e games, the "gods" only exist as archetypes. There is no mechanical statblock for a god. And, if there is a statblock, it is more like conjuring an "avatar". To kill the avatar might impede the activity of the god, but it wouldnt eliminate the archetype itself. To conjure an avatar of a god is similar to, or perhaps exactly the same thing, as to create an Angel. It can be, a creature who does have a statblock can take on the persona of an archetype. Compare the Fiend Lolth emulating the archetypal concept of Treachery. Even if players killed Lolth, the archetype of Treachery would persist without her. These archetypes are somewhat like the 3e game design of Divine "portfolios". But the main point is, there are no stats, nor mechanics, for a "god". When I use the term "Divine", I always mean Divine magic, in contrast to Arcane, Primal, or Psionic. If I understand correctly, what you mean by "gods" is, any entity that gains power from the followers that "worship" it. For you, some entities can amass power in this way and others cant. I think I can work with this. I would insist that any "god", by definition, requires the institution of a priesthood whose job is to maintain a temple of some kind, and this is a requirement for the definition of "worshiping" a "god". The "god" might be an abstract archetypal concept relating to ability to exist or survive, like light or war. Or the "god" might be a creature with hit points but that identifies itself with such a concept. (Such as, Lolth is an Elf-become-Fiend who identifies with the conceptual portfolio of Treachery.) Either way, the building of temples and the dedication of priests grants power to this "god". This power is precisely a form of Divine magic. If the god is an abstract cosmic force, like light or war, the Divine magic can conjure an avatar of it that has a statblock, or manifest other kinds of magical effects that cohere with the concept. If the god is already a creature with a statblock, the Divine magic can increase its levels and features, such as making Lolth a more powerful Fiend. Note, it is possible to have Divine magic without any temple-priest-god. For example, the Paladin class achieves Divine magic nontheistically by means of an "Oath". But this oath is a personal dedication to some archetypal concept. It is the archetype-concept-ideal-meaningfulness that makes Divine magic "divine". To institute an order of Paladins whose members are all dedicated to the same Oath is also a way to amass Divine magical power collectively. [/QUOTE]

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