D&D General What spells should a god have?

[dave2008]

So I've been working on a supplement to convert The Immortal Rules from BECMI (and some Deities & Demigods and Legends & Lore) to 5e and I've run into a bit of writer's block. I am giving deities some base-level innate casting. Spells all deities should have. Spells that mimic basic abilities we think gods should have. I am having a hard time deciding what spells say "god" without stepping on the toes of specific gods too much.

So, what spells do you think a:
Demigod should have?
Lesser god should have?
Intermediate god should have?
Greater god should have?

EDIT: I have clarified this a few times, so I thought i should put it in the OP: a god (in this system) can cast any spell at will, but it has a cost. I am interested in some innate spells that would have no cost, but are iconic, in a generic sense, to deities. What spells does any god need to be a god?

 

[aco175]

I'll cut off the "Any he wants" comment now

 

[aco175]

I remember the 2e FR books on gods and think that greater gods could cast anything without components and casting times. Something with their avatar over their actual body.

 

[dave2008]

I remember the 2e FR books on gods and think that greater gods could cast anything without components and casting times. Something with their avatar over their actual body.

Yes, the 2e books were pretty much any spell at-will. I am asking less about what has been done in the past and more about what iconic abilities should they have. For example, it makes sense for them to have command and geas at some point. And probably power word kill, true resurrection, and wish at some point as well.

 

[aco175]

I would allow greater gods to cast any metamagic at-will and scale that down to minor gods having only one or 2 metemagics to use at will. Demi-gods may only get one.

I would give them all spells as well, even gods that focus on war and such. Maybe it is just a school or up to a certain level based on the ranking.

Maybe it would be easier to rank the gods 1-10 and each rank can cast spells of that level and power. So a lesser god of rank 2 can cast up to any 2nd level spell and maybe give some flavor spells of higher level.

Not sure on iconic abilities, but a lot may be based on flavor and non-combat. A nature god may be able to cause and plant to ripen and bear fruit at will, or a war god could create a magical version of any weapon.

 

[cbwjm]

For demigods, I might only give them spells related directly to their sphere of influence.

For lesser gods and upwards, your list above fits, I'd also add planeshift and gate. Holy Aura would also be a good fit. Additional spells I'd add would be anything that seems like it comes direct from the deity such as divine word, and hallow.

I guess technically, if they have wish on their list of possible spells then any 8th level spell or lower is also on their list. Gods being gods, they wouldn't be affected by the negative effects of a wish spell.

 

[FrogReaver]

Yes, the 2e books were pretty much any spell at-will. I am asking less about what has been done in the past and more about what iconic abilities should they have. For example, it makes sense for them to have command and geas at some point. And probably power word kill, true resurrection, and wish at some point as well.

Any cleric spell related to healing - resurrection - restoration.
Scrying
Teleportation
Disintigrate
Meteor Swarm
Summoning spells (probably some not accessible to players)
Druid spells pertaining to nature
The strongest illusion spells
Spells that magically influence others
Counterspell
Dispel Magic
Levitate
Invisibility
Fly
Dimension Door
etc.


I don't really see gods having the minor defensive spells. I don't really see minor offensive spells being a thing either.

 

[Garthanos]

Pikard Magic : Make it so.

 

[Lanefan]

@FrogReaver - your list is pretty good but misses a few key elements:

Grant spell powers to others (i.e. mortal Clerics)
Be able to function on more than one plane/world at a time
Grant wishes (or miracles) to others
Fulfill wishes made (or miracles requested) by others

That said, the whole question probably isn't relevant when comparing deities to mortals (from a mortal perspective, most deities should be able to more or less be able to do anything), but becomes very relevant if one ends up in a situation of having to compare deities/immortals vs other deities/immortals.

 

[Sepulchrave II]

@dave2008

I’m not sure where you’re coming from, exactly.

If you’re looking to make a system where deities are playable – if you’re working off of BECMI – then I would recommend a fairly limited palette of “universal” magical powers, with more diverse and flavorful portfolio-specific elements for specific deities/immortals.

Spells which bestow benefits on worshippers (bless, remove curse, break enchantment etc.); likewise curses to heap on those offending the deity. Perception-augmenting spells (detect x etc.); spells which allow the deity to perceive and interact at a distance with mortals (dreams, telepathy etc.); the ability to cause an effect at a distance – that one’s a bit trickier.

Most of these could be scaled fairly intuitively through demi-, lesser-, intermediate- and greater deity status.

Are you using the Matter/Energy/Time/Thought sphere breakdown of the Immortals Rules?