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Post by Daos on Oct 16, 2011 15:44:56 GMT -8
Well, for one, as I said...once they're all dead, then there's no clerical magic left in the world.
Secondly, if the gods can die, then it seems to me that the gods would focus ALL of their efforts into killing each other. They probably would have had a massive godswar long before recorded civilization, leaving only one left alive to rule. Which would result in another monotheistic setting, like Cradle.
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Airellian
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Post by Airellian on Oct 16, 2011 15:59:00 GMT -8
Anyway, that wasn't my only idea. You'll notice that I had others in that post.
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Post by HorizonsDream on Oct 16, 2011 18:41:29 GMT -8
I'm going to sum this up. A world were the Gods can die, or a world where the Gods are like the Greek Gods wouldn't be fun for your basic player.
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Airellian
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Post by Airellian on Oct 16, 2011 18:42:17 GMT -8
Takhisis died.  |
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Post by HorizonsDream on Oct 16, 2011 18:55:04 GMT -8
Paladine became mortal. If I recall, it was suppose to be a compromise, a way to keep the balance. She only died because she became mortal like Paladine.
There are other Gods in Dragonlance besides those two though, who are completely immortal to keep magic and healing and things like that intact.
Once again, this is all stuff that happen in the books too. That makes for great writing, but does it make for great game play?
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Post by Airellian on Oct 16, 2011 19:06:49 GMT -8
If neither of you don't like that idea, then fine. But, as I said before, that post had other ideas besides that one, which haven't been commented upon.
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Post by Daos on Oct 16, 2011 19:23:21 GMT -8
Okay, backtracking a little then... Perhaps they don't flex their divine muscles all the time, but it should be an option at least. For example, perhaps they have a system in place where if one god did something god-like, the other gods are allowed to do something in response of an equal god-like measure. Some might respond right away, while others might wait years on down the line. It would be a system of debts that they were continually adding to and repaying. They might even exchange these debts with each other in a complex and byzantine divine game. It is an option, though. I never said the gods were incapable of 'flexing their divine muscles.' Just that whenever they did, it tended to get immediately counteracted by another god. They can still try, but all it takes is for one faithful mortal to pray to another god to undo it. For instance, let's say there's a big prosperous city. The Crusader feels things are getting too stale there, and so causes a massive fire. The question is, what is stopping the Nurturer or the Arbiter from stepping in and extinguishing it? |
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Post by Airellian on Oct 16, 2011 20:22:46 GMT -8
It is an option, though. I never said the gods were incapable of 'flexing their divine muscles.' Just that whenever they did, it tended to get immediately counteracted by another god. They can still try, but all it takes is for one faithful mortal to pray to another god to undo it. Actually, it's not an option. If each god possesses an undo button on the divine actions of every other god, then they have no option to do anything divine. Which is why I equated it as such. The problem is that the gods as imagined are omnipotent, or at least relatively omnipotent, but they exist in a world with four other omnipotent entities of equal power. This is why I suggested limiting their scope, but that suggestion backfired on me. Instead, these gods have to have come up with a set of rules among themselves, explicitly telling them how they're allowed to conduct themselves with each other. And you've done that, coming up with a set of rules so that they have only the tiniest influence allowed in interacting with the world: only act through your priests and maybe an avatar. But, there's no reason you can't expand those rules to allow for certain divine actions to take place. In your earlier example, the Crusader causes a fire to shake up the social order at a certain prosperous city. Maybe the Nurturer and the Arbiter don't intervene because it was the Crusader's turn, as described by a previous pact all of the gods made together. If they do intervene, then they break that pact and then they're back to undoing each other all over again. |
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Post by Daos on Oct 16, 2011 20:38:59 GMT -8
Wouldn't that have a dramatic effect on worshipers, though? Imagine being a citizen in that aforementioned hypothetical city. "Save us, Nurturer!" you cry. "Sorry," your god replies. "It's Crusader's turn right now. Maybe next time."
The other thing to note is how I would be able to keep track of all the wheelings and dealings of these gods. Seems complicated. But regardless, whenever it comes up in game, it will really reek of (literal) deus ex machina.
"Wait, so a god just saved us all? Why didn't it do that in the beginning?"
"Well, it wasn't that god's turn yet."
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Post by Airellian on Oct 17, 2011 3:30:25 GMT -8
I can see I'm not going to convince anyone here on this, so I'm just going to give up on the entire notion.
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