D&D 5E What does it mean that a deity can have a different rank on a different world?

[Sword of Spirit]

DMG page 11 has a sidebar on Divine Rank. This sidebar is problematic. I'm only going address one problem.

We are told:
"Some gods are worshipped on multiple worlds and have a different rank on each world, depending on their influence there."

But then the different divine ranks are described, and they are all about what the deity is personally. They don't tell us anything about how they influence a world (with the exception that Quasi-deities can't really--despite other 5e sources later disagreeing).

If you are a Greater Deity on one world and a Lesser Deity on another, are you "beyond mortal understanding?" Are you capable of being understood on worlds where you are a Lesser Deity, but incomprehensible on worlds where you are a Greater Deity? (Honestly, I think "beyond mortal understanding", in context means something like, "have an existence that extends beyond a single physical form", but that's not what it says.)

What is that (the different ranks on different worlds thing) even supposed to mean?

 

[Xenonnonex]

Divine rank. For divine strata -> demigod -> lesser -> intermediate -> greater -> overgod.

 

[Mirtek]

This was never clearly defined. Best guess what that you are your highest rank, but your divine conduit to worlds where you are of lesser rank is smaller and thus you can not project more power into that world, than a deity of that lesser rank could.

Might be a nasty surprise for some upstart mortal heroes, who travel to the outer planar realm of their world's evel demigod to slay him, only to discover that there actually is a full fledged greater deity awaiting them there. They just perceived it as a demigod on their world, because the deity has not yet been able to extend more than their pinky into their world

 

[Lanefan]

My guess is that it's to allow or encourage DMs to tailor their pantheons to their own games, and a whack-upside-the-head hint to players to not expect deity details from one DM's campaign to carry over into another. It also allows DMs to change things up from world to world if-when their players' PCs get to high enough level to start world-hopping.

For example: Corellon might be a greater god in one campaign or on one world, an intermediate god in another, an aspect of some other deity completely in a third (which would be mine), and utterly irrelevant in a fourth.

 

[akr71]

I view it kinda like Superbowl Champions saying they are "Champions of the World" when that sport is only played in one corner of the world. The Superbowl may have little to no relevance in other locations, but that doesn't mean the team that won aren't still the champs.

 

[Li Shenron]

This is problematic only on a theorycraft level...

Say that maybe I want to have Osiris the god of the dead being a lesser deity in the world of Faerun (Mulhorand region), a greater deity in a homebrew Egypt-inspired world, and a quasi-deity in the world of Amonkhet. In my homebrew Osiris reigns supreme as an impalpable being which empowers life, regulates nature, and cares for the deceased; he is everywhere and effectively beyond comprehension. In the meantime, he is a lesser presence in Mulhorand, powerful enough to grant spells but also limited to a more-or-less tangible form. At the same time in Amonkhet he is a demigod that is trying to take the place of one of the local deities, and cannot grant spells to local clerics unless he first gains enough worskippers.

So what exactly is the problem? The players do not understand the concept? Well then it's their problem, certainly it's not a problem for Osiris Are you worried that as a DM you have to provide a "solid" explanation? Don't. Religion is never explained, it is believed or disbelieved, and thank God (sic!) we don't even have to worry about that while playing D&D!

 

[jgsugden]

I don't just make my PMP worlds unique, I make my cosmologies unique. There is an Abyss and Hell for the Forgotten Realms setting that is distinct from the one for Greyhawk. My homebrew cosmology is as different from the Forgotten Realms as Eberron is.

However, Gods are extra-cosmological. They span these cosmologies. They really exist between these Cosmologies, but manifest into them. If you were to kill a God (as they did in the FR), you're really just cutting the God off from their access to that plane. Some manifestions, like Tiamat's manifestation into Krynn as Takhisis, are far enough removed to take on more distinct personalities and exist more independently than other manifestations.

There also tends to be ways to travel between Cosmologies. Some are connected by the phlogiston of Spelljammer fame. Others by powerful and rare portals. This is how high priests of a God travel to different planes, spread the knowledge of their Gods, and capture the power of that prayer to escalate the God to a higher status on that plane.

I find this system works really well to address the various discrepancies, inconsistencies and challenges of not just the 5E system, but the historical systems as well.

 

[Undrave]

What is that (the different ranks on different worlds thing) even supposed to mean?

It means you can do whatever you want and worrying about worlds you're not playing in is a waste of time

Or you try to understand the concept of Multiversal Singularities... but best not to.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

This is why I treat each setting as wholly separate from any other setting.

 

[Ath-kethin]

It's all a ploy to get those dirty Forgotten Realms gods into your Dark Sun game. Don't fall for it!