Sell me on Arcana Evolved.

[Dannyalcatraz]

I hated the ELH, thought it was a generally awful book.

On this we agree 100%.

To be a "being" requires living.

Courtesy of Merriam-Webster:

Being

Main Entry: 1be·ing
Pronunciation: 'bE(-i)[ng]
Function: noun
1 a : the quality or state of having existence b (1) : something conceivable as existing (2) : something that actually exists (3) : the totality of existing things c : conscious existence : LIFE
2 : the qualities that constitute an existent thing : ESSENCE; especially : PERSONALITY
3 : a living thing; especially : PERSON

Emphasis mine.

Thus, by the definition you cited, under these sections:

1. A being conceived as the perfect, omnipotent, omniscient originator and ruler of the universe, the principal object of faith and worship in monotheistic religions.

or

2. A being of supernatural powers or attributes, believed in and worshiped by a people, especially a male deity thought to control some part of nature or reality.

a god qualifies as a target for this akashic ability.

 

[Tharen the Damned]

Just goes to show you, Monte isn't as infallible as people make him out to be. Don't get me wrong, he's a great designer, just not godlike.

Heretic!

 

[SWBaxter]

"Breathe" and many other words don't a defined game term either. I think we can safely rely on a dictionary definition for those and for "creature" and "alive." In fact, I'd argue that where the game doesn't define a term, the dictionary definition would be the default interpretation.

Indeed. And as shown previously, it's quite possible to find definitions that support either including or excluding gods, for some god-concepts. As such, the ambiguity that you believe doesn't exist has been clearly demonstrated. A GM could rule either way and be correct. The fact that you want to keep on repeating that you would rule just one way and that's it might be of interest to you, but trust me - the rest of us get it already.

 

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

In regular D&D, there is also a indication that Gods might not be "living creatures" - The spell Antilife Shell doesn't work against Outsiders, and I seem to remember that statted Gods are usually Outsiders.

Still, that doesn't really need to apply for Arcana Evolved, since they are neither statted out there nor is there a similar spell (IIRC).

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

And as shown previously, it's quite possible to find definitions that support either including or excluding gods, for some god-concepts.

Actually, no. According to the (confusingly numbered) definitions posted originally:

1. God

A living being.

1. A being conceived as the perfect, omnipotent, omniscient originator and ruler of the universe, the principal object of faith and worship in monotheistic religions.

A living being.

2. The force, effect, or a manifestation or aspect of this being.

A sub-ability of living being, which thus implies a living being.

2. A being of supernatural powers or attributes, believed in and worshiped by a people, especially a male deity thought to control some part of nature or reality.

A living being.

3. An image of a supernatural being; an idol.

A piece of art, thus incapable of granting supernatural powers, unless enchanted by an outside force (ie. a living being).

4. One that is worshiped, idealized, or followed: Money was their god.

Either a living being or something treated as if it were. The latter would be unable to grant supernatural powers, unless enchanted by an outside force (ie. a living being).

5. A very handsome man.

A living being.

6. A powerful ruler or despot.

A living being.

The only reason I limited my previous post is that I didn't think I needed to address anything besides the strongest cases for a god being a non-being.

Note: I'm not suggesting that, just like core D&D, AU/AE spellcasters couldn't get powers from Philosophies. I'm just saying that AU/AE (like most fantasy realms) is constructed in such a way that there is no doubt as to whether gods exist.

 

[SSquirrel]

Actually the emphasised definition adds "especially person", which I wouldn't consider a god. It seems pretty obvious that you're going to rule one way when you run and I'll rule the other, so I'll just let it go at this point. I dont' see them as living beings, you obviously do.

But go buy AE if you haven't yet OP

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Well, if gods aren't persons, then they are places or things- assuming that "god" is still a noun.

But go buy AE if you haven't yet OP

 

[catsclaw227]

I find it rather hard to imagine a world in which one couldn't make the argument that the gods aren't susceptible to that akashic ability, or are somehow beyond it, or CHOOSE not to let the akashic access their memories. Or cast spells that purge their akashic memory record. Et cetera. The existence of divinatory abilities is hardly sufficient to resolve big philosophical questions like those concerning the existence of the gods.

IMC, the Gods would not be susceptible to the akashic ability. Also, we likely won't be playing epic rules for AU/AE so the gods wouldn't be confronted ala Greek mythology.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Even if you rule the gods themselves are not subject to the akashic ability, there is also the problem of any known direct interaction between a god and any other non-divine being.

That is, if god "X" directly appeared to person "Y," person "Y" - still susceptible to the akashic ability- would be able to relate to those who question that person (while in posession of the akashic) the experience of being in the divine presence. If not, one portion of that faith has been undermined.

Hmmm....an akashic Guild of Skeptics...

 

[SSquirrel]

Even if you rule the gods themselves are not subject to the akashic ability, there is also the problem of any known direct interaction between a god and any other non-divine being.

That is, if god "X" directly appeared to person "Y," person "Y" - still susceptible to the akashic ability- would be able to relate to those who question that person (while in posession of the akashic) the experience of being in the divine presence. If not, one portion of that faith has been undermined.

Hmmm....an akashic Guild of Skeptics...

See that just wouldn't happen in my game. The gods are not showing up to talk to people, smiting individuals, etc etc. They're sort of there and it all depends on the believers to spread the world. Like in real life.

AE feels more like a "real" world to me than many of the fantasy worlds out there. It just feels more like the real world in many ways (like the lack of strict alignments or jack in the box gods). Yes I know there are dragons and talking jackals and such, but it's certain underlying realistic aspects that make it different.