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Can you explain "divinity"?

After you become a divinity and take the portfolio of Bhaal, what happens?

1) How are you supposed to use your powers and what are their limits?
2) Can a good Bhaal give part of his essence to a good Sarevok, if he wanted?
3) How are you going to survive, given that you have no worshippers?
4) Would another good divinity accept you as exarch and follower?
5) And last but not least, if you turn evil, will an Evil Bhaal die in the first week?

Skatan

Comments

  • semiticgoddesssemiticgoddess Member Posts: 14,903
    I think a lot of this is left fuzzy because the folks behind the Forgotten Realms campaign setting didn't intend for players to end up playing gods and needing to deal with god-related gameplay mechanics. All we have to go on are some vague hints about what godhood entails:

    1. Your powers are primarily limited to the spells and the orders you give to your clerics, though gods sometimes intervene more directly, like Talos smiting people he doesn't like. There aren't really any obligations about how you're supposed to use your power, with the sole exception that Ao started the Time of Troubles to remind the gods that their primary responsibility is to serve their followers instead of squabble with other gods over influence. That's not the sort of thing Ao does everyday, though, so you'd generally do whatever you wanted.
    2. Sure, why not? Doesn't seem too complicated for a god.
    3. Based on some dialog from High Watcher Oisig in BG2, folks in Faerun can see signs indicating the existence of a new god, and some people will seek out those gods. Certain other gods might see you as a useful ally and have their followers promote you and train up some clerics to start up your congregation. Your survival would depend on that congregation's ability to sustain itself and grow.
    4. If you were good-aligned by the end, some good-aligned gods might see you as a friend. Perhaps Tyr would view you as a cold-blooded slayer of evil, someone whose followers, empowered by the portfolio of murder, could assassinate bad guys and stuff. Definitely easier to get by as an evil god, though, if your portfolio is murder.
    5. Not sure what you mean. Bhaal the former god would shrivel to nothing regardless of what you do, since he no longer has any claim to his old portfolio and should be basically lying dead in the Astral Plane, though canonically he's supposed to come back somehow. For most intents and purposes, Bhaal would be gone.

    I think the basic game plan for a new god of murder would be:

    1. For good-aligned characters, they'd patronize vigilantes, righteous vendettas and blood feuds, and folks who assassinate bad guys. Tyr would probably hype you up and spread the faith so you'll support his flock as yours grows.
    2. For neutral-aligned characters, they'd patronize just about anybody who has a habit of killing people outside of war (which would be Tempus' domain). Adventurers with a mean streak would be part of the flock, but your followers would mostly just be serial killers and assassins. Evil deities might take you on in the hopes that you'd support some of their wars against other religions. The god Mask would probably be a good friend of yours.
    3. For evil-aligned characters, you'd be pretty similar to the neutral-aligned god of murder. The only difference is that your followers and your allies among the gods would be somewhat closer to 100% evil.
    ThacoBellArthas
  • KamigoroshiKamigoroshi Member Posts: 5,870
    Ascending to godhood in the Forgotten Realms is like getting a promotion on your job: more income with helluva responsibilities (yeah... evil ones are getting them, too). Everything else stays pretty much the same. Occasionally you'll get god collegues which you can hang out with on afterwork parties. And then there are those which are just a pain in the divine ass to deal with.

    Most start-up deities will try to work for a fancy god corporation, led by an intermediate or greater deity CEO. Although there are also those who view self-employed as an attractive alternative. Being your own boss nice as well.

    Like the saying goes: "Gods are people, too."
    ThacoBellAciferArthas
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 0
    edited May 2019
    The user and all related content has been deleted.
    Arthas
  • deltagodeltago Member Posts: 7,811
    Arthas wrote: »
    After you become a divinity and take the portfolio of Bhaal, what happens?

    1) How are you supposed to use your powers and what are their limits?
    2) Can a good Bhaal give part of his essence to a good Sarevok, if he wanted?
    3) How are you going to survive, given that you have no worshippers?
    4) Would another good divinity accept you as exarch and follower?
    5) And last but not least, if you turn evil, will an Evil Bhaal die in the first week?

    A god is it’s portfolio. It is nothing more and nothing less. You are murder. You are it’s intent. You are unnatural death delivered by another.

    1. Murder rests solely in the domain of death. Channeling your worshipers intent to commit murder, you give a divine essence to help them with their cause.

    2. This is where I think the games erred. Unless you were to take Bhaal’s divinity and choose another unclaimed portfolio (mercy, laughter etc) the portfolio would consume you and make you evil as it corrupts your soul and rips it asunder as you ascend.

    3. Once again it’s the intent, not the action that you will speak to or through your followers. Once they believe in the feeling they get from murder would they start believing and worshipping again. You also had your own followers (depending on who was in your party) that would be able to spread the word of your ascension. As mentioned, there maybe other signs of your ascension.

    4. Once again, if you ascended and didn’t take the portfolio of murder and chose something else another God may take you under their wing and expose part of their portfolio to you, or give you claim over something related. This may happen if a person was a cleric of another deity before ascending. AO May have other plans however.

    5. Would an evil Bhaal die. The irony of the god of murder being murdered is amusing thought. But a new God of Murder would have allies as a balance would be attempted to be struck.
    Arthas
  • semiticgoddesssemiticgoddess Member Posts: 14,903
    Also, it's possible that Charname earned a different portfolio in the process of becoming the new Lord of Murder. Portfolios aren't finite and preset; any mortal can attain godhood if they acquire the right set of powers and possess the right characteristics. Plus, gods aren't limited to a single portfolio, so it's entirely possible that a given Charname might have some special trait that entitled them to both the portfolio of murder and another one.

    If Charname happened to be an incredibly talented cook back in Candlekeep and kept refining that ability over the course of his or her travels, and maybe augmented those talents with mage spells or whatever, he or she could easily become the new God of Cooking as well as the new Lord of Murder.
    ThacoBellArthas
  • The user and all related content has been deleted.
    ThacoBellsarevok57
  • semiticgoddesssemiticgoddess Member Posts: 14,903
    Combine the two and you get the God of Cannibalism.
    ThacoBellgorgonzola
  • gorgonzolagorgonzola Member Posts: 3,864
    edited May 2019
    if i will ever attain godhood i will chose the pizza portfolio, i want my main temple in naples and i want more followers than san gennaro.
    ThacoBellRaduziel
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