Upper_Krust said:Hi there Essex!
Heya, chief.
Our thoughts are one. *shakes head* Sorry shouldn't be watching ST:V - Dark Frontier as I type this. I see most of the rank and file Goa'uld as just carriers for the genetic memory, nothing special. The average system lord (Apophis, Heru-Ur, Cronos) as being Quasi-Deity. Ra, Sokar, and Anubis I see as being actually Demi-gods.
1) Ra - he is the head of them, and I had the impression, that before he died, EVERYONE paid him tribute and lip service (except for those like Apophis, who were rebelling against his rule). Also given, that he was the one who started the whole mess, I see him being spiffier.
2) Sokar - *shudder* I actually see him as being a Tainted, Possessed, or Half-Fiend variant of the standard. His eyes glowed RED for crying out loud. He also seemed to have a incredibly large and separate power base for the rest.
3) Anubis - similar story to Sokar (even played by the same actor, how's that for funny?) He also has the advantage of that he Ascended, which I'm treating as Divine Elevation. Being kicked back down, but still obviously more than what he was, I can't see him as anything other than a Demigod.
I'm going for they are devotely worshipped by the few thousand Jaffa they have in their service. Then you have the worlds, which sparsely populated, do worship them out of fear (which is good enough for evil deities in D&D worlds).
Actually I'm changing their origin to fit in with a more D&D style cosmology (the gods do ACTUALLY exist). This is gonna be a bit long and probably pointless, so bear with me. Millions of years ago a civilization existed on Earth and rose to great heights in technology AND magic (Ancients anyone?). Well a cosmic crisis spread to our world as the dark Power that some on other plains call Tharizdun began annihiliting the universe and demons and corrupt things spread in his wake.
When the big T reached this plain, the Overpower intervened and helped the other gods imprison him, but doing so cost the Overpower its existence. In its death throes, it did two things: It expelled all non-native creatures from Earth, and then sealed this universe from further intrusion. This dropped the Mana Level down to a fraction of itself and prevented the gods from intervening directly anymore. It also bathed the world in Its power and a handful of beings became imbued with its energy and became Immortals (anyone see Highlander?) They are driven to fight and kill each other until only one remains (and in turn has absorbed all the divine essence, which will result in a rebirth of the Overpower). Because of the beings Lawful and Divine origin, it subconsciously forces a kind of "rules" on the Immortals preventing massive cheating and even dueling on Holy Ground.
Now onto the point of this little dissertation. The Egyptian pantheon wanted to have access to its worshippers again so when they found a crack in the Wall between Worlds, Ra sent a fraction of his essence through to possess a young boy to be his intermediary. Unfortunately something went wrong. Or maybe the boy's innately human nature was corrupted by the sudden power and in turn affected the Avatar. No one knows for certain, but Ra became a tyrant.
During his thousand year reign, he uncovered the Stargate system and went and explored other worlds, finding more Ancient technology and artifacts. He eventually learned the art of genetic engineering, and decided he had a foolproof way to ensure his own survival, even beyond the sarcophagus and new hosts. He created a parasite that contained all his memories and knowledge and designed a Queen-like creature to create them. She took an Egyptian woman and became the "goddess" Hathor. Later, as she learned the myths of "who she was", she created other parasites, not with Ra's identity, but with the other gods of the pantheon, to vex her husband, as well as lesser, servitor Goa'uld who had no identity as gods, so they would be more... pliable.
Ra had her imprisoned for this as he was being challenged now by humans possesed by parasites believing themselves to be Apophis and Anubis and others. Eventually the humans of Earth rose up and drove their oppressors off and these "false gods" retreated through the Stargate. They spread off to other worlds to avoid each other, and over the ages, they rebuilt much of the technology they had uncovered from past civilations and started to build their own private empires amongst the stars, when they eventually started to encounter each other again, and the System Lords were eventually formed, with Ra once again at its head.
*gaspwheezegasp* Okay why the heck did I just write all that out?
Are you mocking me!?
My home address is c/o the Cheyenne Mountain Complex.
Dude, you've so got to get me on an SG team. I'll do anything, just get me off this divisive, short-sighted mudball....
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- my answer was that I wanted a measurement of deity power that tied in with the 1e AD&D XP & GP system, ie 1 Worship Point (divinity) was intended to be equivalent to 1 XP (experience) or 1gp (wealth), and they were interchangeable inasmuch as you could spend WPs to do the same kind of stuff you can do with gps, like make magic items, or XPs, like make items, cast certain powerful spells & rituals, etc.
